Twilight Warrior
by Gothic-Diamond
Summary: Mass crossover with a Castlevania base, and Kingdom Hearts undertones. This is not one of those stories where the main charater starts out weak.
1. Awakening

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 1**

**Awakening**

(Dive Into the Heart)

It all started with a splash.

A small splash, created by a humanoid body breaking the surface of a body of water.

The said humanoid body resembled a sculpture carved by a renaissance artist, and could not be any more than one hundred and eighty pounds.

The figure was male, but possessed distinct feminine features.

The figure opened his eyes, and saw that he was falling, not through water, but darkness.

'_I am… falling?'_

The being noticed he was descending headfirst, so he shifted his center of gravity, so as to flip himself, and no sooner than that his feet hit something solid.

'_Maybe I am dreaming, but…'_

Pieces of darkness peeled off the ground and turning into ravens, they flew away. When the darkness scattered, he squinted as a star-esque light pierced the abyssal darkness, coming from a circular column, topped by a stained glass platform. The platform really should not be able to support his weight, yet somehow it did.

And all around were petrified trees, pure white, and glowing/humming with pent up energy. The bottoms of the trees, he could not see, as they disappeared into the darkness below, but the tops of the branches, were just a few hundred feet above his head.

'_If I am dreaming, then why?…'_

The hundreds of trees, all humming together, like the Seraphim choir. But, despite their heavenly aesthetic, he could sense that they were anything but holy.

Faint waves of rainbow colored energy wafted off of each one. The waves of close-together trees came together, creating a nova like effect.

'_Why am I all alone?'_

When he was able to concentrate on the platform, his eyes widened when he saw the image.

A girl, not any older than sixteen. Her skin and hair were snow white, her namesake.

Her hair was shoulder length and straight.

Her eyes were canted, with pink irises, common to people with Albinism. She had a heart shaped face with small delicate features, dotted with freckles.

She wore a low quality plaid grey dress with a v-neck. She wore a necklace with a turquoise pendant in the shape of the kanji みゆき, or Miyuki, which meant silence of deep snow. Revealed by her low neckline and lack of sleeves, freckles dotted her neck, upper chest, and upper arms.

Lastly, her lips, finger and toe nails were painted black, and she was barefoot.

'_Miyuki' _he thought, and his heart broke as he remembered the way she died.

**Flashback**

_It was Hiroshima Japan, 7:25 in the evening, and the date was August 6__th__, 1945. The monstrosity called the atomic bomb was dropped a few short hours ago. Tens of thousands were killed in the initial explosion, and hundreds of thousands more died in the fires._

_The air was rank with the stench of death, choked with smoke and fire. Thy sky was reddish orange, alight with the fire and sulfur. Burnt corpses lined the streets, and the nearby river was filled with countless more. However, that was not the worst of it._

_Screams of the survivors were heard from miles around, most of which were burdened with half-burnt, and bloodied bodies. Other survivors were relatively unharmed, physically at least._

_Miles above, in the plane that dropped said bomb, many of the U.S. soldiers looked down on the hell below, and took their own lives. The ones that did not, were convinced that their very souls were the price of this victory._

_In the coming years, many were convinced, both U.S. and Japanese, soldiers and citizens alike, that if there was a hell, this was it. However, as he would later learn, the U.S. citizens would not know about the events that took place here for about a decade._

_His eyes were wide, filled to the brim with terror, and a torrent of crimson tears were flowing from them. _

_In his arms was her, Miyuki Korido, her hair crumpled and turned to ash, and her skin charcoal black, cracked and bleeding. Her chest heaving in agony, and her hands grasping desperately at his neck. Her eyes were boiled and melted away, leaving only empty sockets filled with blood. Her legs, lifeless, the bones in them, and most of her body, turned to dust._

_Her mouth was open in a scream, but no sound came out, save for a hacking/wheezing. This was caused by the liquidation of her vocal cords._

_Her body, roasted alive by that horrendous invention. The only damage to his body however, his skin was cracked and bronzed._

_In the end, it was he, her koishii, who snapped her neck in an act of terrible mercy. _

**End Flashback**

He was on his hands and knees, weeping. A voice brought him out of his daze, **"You are here… right on time." **He gasped, and jumped into a stance, as per instinct.

"Who are you?" He asked warily, in a soft baritone voice, and the voice answered **"I can be nobody… or anybody. That is for you to ponder. But for now, I am your guide."**

"Ok-" he said, loosening up into an upright standing position, but remained ready to lash out at any would-be attackers "-why am I here?" he finished, **"Something terrible is going to happen." **the voice responded, and he asked, thoughtfully, "Am I here… to learn how to stop it?" **"What is to happen, no one can stop. It has been foretold."** It responded, voice full of sorrow.

"**You are here, to learn how to survive, for you shall be very important in the events to come." **It said in a strong voice.

"Survive?… Important?" he asked tentatively… but the voice did not answer.

"**Now that questions are out of the way… let us have a look at you.**

He felt thousands of eyes upon him from all directions, making him feel quite naked.

He stood at seventy-four inches.

His skin was as white as virgin snow.

His feminine looking face was somewhere between oval and heart shaped.

His hair was blood red with ebony black streaks, it fell down his back in soft waves, and his eyebrows were delicately arched.

His eyes were oddities in and of themselves. Black pupils, surrounded by blood red irises that looked to have been masterfully carved from gemstones, within his iris were sapphire blue rings. Lastly, the sclera were black.

His ears were long and pointed, like those of an elf.

His hands ended in long slender fingers, with two inch claws. His feet, which were bare at the moment, looked small and dainty when compared to the rest of his body. Hit toes ended in one inch claws, both of which resembled obsidian and were retractable.

His muscles were honed to the peak of physical phighting edge, while retaining a lithe and sinewy build.

And lastly, he was wearing a pair of black velvet bellbottom trousers, and a necklace with an oceanic blue gemstone as the pendant. Sealed within the pendant like it was resin or amber, was a black rose.

"**No, that will not do." **His eye twitched, as he felt a little insulted.

A mass of Darkness covered his body, surprising him. When it faded, a suit that resembled black muscle tissue, with a black open-in-the-front skirt with a torn hem, covered his body.

"**This is to be your armor. This is however, only a larval form, it will finish forming as you grow." **The voice explained, as two scimitars appeared in front of him.

"**Now then-" **the voice began as the weapons appeared.

The first sword looked to be made of glass or crystal and was fashioned into a average length scimitar. The blade was blue, and resembled an open wing of a bird, with razor sharp feathers. The guard was fixed with a blue gem, that resembled an eye with a round pupil. The handle was gold, and looked to be made of glass as well, rather than wrapping, it had a notched grip. (Blade of Hamal)

The other sword also looked to be made of glass or crystal, and was fashioned into a longer scimitar. The black blade resembled the open wing of a bat, with the inner membrane being dark grey. A red cat eye gem was centered into the guard. The hilt was black, with finger grooves rather than wrapping. (Blade of Inala)

"**-Choose your path."** The voice finished.

'_From what I can guess, the blue and gold one represents Light, and the black and grey one represents Darkness. Light or Darkness? Darkness? Light? Light and Darkness in equal proportions would be Twilight… More Light than Dark would be Dawn, and more Dark than Light would be Dusk. Hmm…'_

He made his decision, and took hold of both. **"You have chosen the path of the Chaser."**

In a flash of Light his armor changed. His pectoral and abdominal muscles were covered by silver colored metal plates that were slightly transparent, and embedded in the center of his chest, was his blue stone, which now glowed with an eerie light. The material traveled up his neck, ending just below his jaw line. From his elbows to the backs of his hands were metal gauntlets. From his knees to his feet were metal sabatons. Around his waist was a belt with intersecting metal plates, hanging from which was a ankle length black skirt, it was open in the front, and had a torn white hemline. Lastly, flowing down his back to his ankles was a full length cloak that matched the skirt in style, and emblazoned on the back in white was the insignia of Kingdom Hearts.

"**Chaser's Armor. This armor is symbiotic, that bonds with your energy. It will protect you from all manner of attacks, physical, spiritual, or magical. No one less than half as powerful as you are can penetrate it."**

He smiled, looking at his right gauntlet, taking note that the gloves were lengthened to accommodate his claws, noticing the metal portions of his armor matched the other portions in design, which seemed to resemble muscle tissue, save for the skirt and cloak, which were a velvety substance.

The metal portions seemed to be decorated with alchemic runes, giving him the idea that this armor may have been made alchemically.

"**Although I knew that you would choose this path… I sincerely hoped that you would not."** He gained a confused expression, as the voice's explanation began.

His eyes were closed forcefully, and he envisioned himself in the middle of a large grassy field, with dirt roads to either side of him, and to the front.

He looked to the left, **"Guardians of the Light… Keybearers who have learned to harness the powers of Light."**

He turned his head to the right, **"Seekers of Darkness… Keybearers who have learned to harness the powers of Darkness."**

Lastly, he faced the middle road, **"Chasers of Infinity… Keybearers who have learned to harness the powers Darkness and Light together."**

"**Chasers are gifted with Spellbinders, special gemstones that give them the ability of greater understanding, which is necessary for accelerated learning."** He reached a hand up to his chest, and touched the gemstone with the first three fingers of his right hand.

"**Since you are a Chaser you should know of the beginning. As those who do not know history, are doomed to repeat it."**

The Chaser was enveloped in Twilight, and when he came out, he was floating over a castle town made of a strange silver crystalline material.

"**Long ago… beings who could use the Keyblade have started appearing. Some having chosen the Light, others the Dark."**

In whips of Light and Darkness, respectively, people wearing Guardian Armor, and Seeker Armor began appearing in the courtyard.

In the center was a female with white hair and dark skin, marking her as a drow elf, and was wearing black and violet Chaser Armor with an onyx spellbinder.

"**But the first one, a female drow by the name of Amaranth. She was a Chaser, chosen master with the X-Blade, the ultimate Keyblade.**

"**But one day, some of the Guardians came to the opinion that Darkness should not exist."**

In a flash of Light, about a third of the Guardians changed, their armor changed color to all white.

"They came to the opinion… let me guess, they were frightened of the Dark?" **"Unfortunately yes. Fear does seem to lead to the most irrational decisions."** _'Indeed.'_

"**These heretics began to go by the name Minions of the Light, and in their opinion that Darkness should not exist, began the first Keyblade War.**

In a flash of light, the beautiful crystal paradise, became a desolate wasteland.

"**The Minions did not want to destroy their home, so they moved the battle to a place called the badlands."**

Down below, the Minions were warring with the Seekers. Many lay dead, but neither side looked like they were loosing.

"**In the end, Amaranth herself had to step in and end it."**

In a sonic boom, the female from before appeared, X-Blade in hand, and with great bursts of speed, struck down the Keybearers nearest to her, then she stabbed her Keyblade into the ground. She charged up, and with a scream loosed a wave of Twilight that annihilated everyone in the area, and scarred the landscape.

In the end, there was only her and she collapsed into sorrowful tears.

The vision faded as he stood in silent reverence.

"**After that, Amaranth was the only Keybearer left, and she had to begin all over again. Only this time, the Keybearers could not play such a major role, lest there be another war.**

"**Ever since, the Keybearers have been working from the shadows, never being seen, never being heard, never being known."**

Tabris' face fell slightly. But then took a closer look at his armor. Upon closer inspection, the metallic portions of his armor were actually made of the crystalline substance from the castle town in the flashback, as were the scimitars.

"**Now you must learn of the enemies you will inevitably face. They are like nothing else you have ever faced before, but by no means the toughest enemies you will ever face."**

A pool of inky Darkness appeared on the ground, and a creature rose from it.

It had a humanoid body structure, and pitch black skin and spherical, glowing yellow eyes. Its crooked antennae were quite long and fell back behind the it. It seemed to be rather muscular, and its hands were very large, each one sporting five clawed fingers. Its feet, were long, lacked digits, and resembled boots. Its body was lined by several faint, blue veins of color. (Pureblood Heartless: Neoshadow)

**The Heartless. They are born when Darkness consumes the heart.**

In another wisp of Darkness, the Heartless disappeared, and a new creature appeared in a very contorted motion.

It had an extremely thin, sinuous body. It had a large, cylindrical head with a flat top emblazoned with a symbol. Its body seemed to be covered in a light grey jumpsuit, and its "mouth" was actually a zipper that undid itself to reveal its actual grey, sharp-toothed mouth underneath. It appeared to be fairly muscular, though its arms and legs were very thin. The sides of its body were outlined by a black line. Its feet and hands were pointed and lacked digits, and its hands each sported two black bands around them. (Nobody: Dusk)

**The Nobodies. When someone of a strong heart and will, be they evil or good, becomes a Heartless, the body and soul gains a will of their own. **

The Nobody disappeared in a patch of bubbles, and a new creature appeared, in another contorted way.

It was a humanoid creature with predominantly blue skin. Its hands were silver and ended in three-fingered claws. Its head is diamond-shaped and sported two short horns on either side of it. Its red eyes were set in a sorrowful expression and the its logo was emblazoned on its chest. (Unversed: Scrapper)

**These are the Unversed. They are the opposite of life, and are born from negative emotions.**

The Unversed disappeared in a cloud of Darkness, and a new creature appeared in a flash of light.

The something had a pure white body in a vaguely feminine shape, it had a metal "Cross Flory Fetch" on its torso with rivets holding it on, another metal Cross Flory Fetch was present over its face in the shape of a mask, while a metal Cross Moline adorned each of its thighs down to its knees, segmented metal bands covered over its left forearm and hand but left its fingers bare, its legs were ended in sharp blades that seemed to hover just off the ground, a white ring of Light hovered over its head, and its right arm was replaced by a short sword with segmented bands over its still present forearm. (Pureblood Soulless: Prism…)

**The Soulless. They are born when a soul is blinded by Light. **

The scimitars disappeared from his hands, and a Keyblade appeared. It resembled a mix between a jian and a skeleton key.

It was thirty-nine inches overall, with a ten inch hilt. The Key started off with a silver-colored blade, the wavy pattern on the blade made it look like it was made from Damascus steel. It's teeth made up the Chinese character for twilight (朦朧 Ménglóng). A yin-yang was present at the center of the guard, the sides of which curved down to encircle the hilt. The hilt was wrapped in black leather black leather. Tied to the pommel, was a crimson tassel that ended with a yin-yang symbol. (Twilight Keyblade: Supreme Law)

It too, looked to be made of the same strange crystal.

"**Now then, this is to be your Keyblade, Genji Blade. Now, you must learn to fight these new enemies. Good luck."**

The Neoshadow jumped at him with ought warning. Now, he was used to being attacked suddenly, so he threw out his foot behind him and roundhouse kicked the Heartless in the chest. As his foot landed, he reached his arm back and grabbed it by the head. When he had hold of it, he plunged his Keyblade into its belly, killing it.

Three more pools of inky blackness appeared on the ground, from which arose the same number of Heartless.

One, he beheaded as soon as it finished rising out of its pool. The second, he cut in half horizontally. The last one was able to scratch him on the face, but the cut healed almost automatically, and he finished it off with a cross slash.

"**Good. Again."**

The Dusk jumped at him, from behind once again, and he tried the same strategy as with the first Neoshadow, but it contorted right around his foot, so he slashed at it with his Keyblade, and that seemed to work, as it came apart in two pieces.

But then the two pieces started moving. Instinctually, he used a Dark fire spell that he was sure he did not know before.

The dark blue fire hit the two pieces of the Dusk, eating away at them until there was nothing left.

Same as before, three more appeared. He killed the first by blindsiding it with a fire spell. The second and third double teamed him, and kicked him on opposite sides of his waist, but the impact was absorbed by his armor. He dealt with them both with a crescent moon slash.

"**Excellent."**

The Scrapper came at him, from the front this time, so he slashed at it with Genji Blade, but it contorted out of the way. He cast the fire spell again, and the blue fire hit its silver claw, but stopped eating away at it after one arm.

In a burst of speed, the Chaser appeared behind the Unversed, and cut it in half, vertically, and its two halves fell apart before vanishing in Dark wisps.

Again, three more Scrappers appeared.

Tabris had a character flaw, he was very annoyed at repetition, and as such he was starting to get more brutal in his methods.

He swung Genji Blade at the first one so fast that, as well as being cut, the thing went flying over the edge. The second one, he slashed at it with his claws, leaving four gashes in its midsection, and he cast the fire spell three times, then smashed the remains with an axe kick. He dropped Genji Blade, and ripped the third apart with his claws.

"**Yes! One more time."**

The Prism appeared and attacked him with a vengeance. After awhile of its arm blade clanging together with Genji Blade, it spread its arms and disappeared in a flash of Light. His head suddenly cleared of the quasi-berserker state the repetition rendered him under, as it's arm blade got him in the back. It did not penetrate his cloak or armor, but he did feel the force of it. He slashed that location, and cut off the arm blade. He stabbed his claws into its head, then cut it in half, and destroyed the two halves with the blue fire spell.

Three more appeared as predicted, and all three bended the light around their bodies to become invisible.

Knowing that as a Chaser, the implications of manipulation of Twilight were theoretically limitless, so he decided to experiment. He channeled power into his fist and slammed it into the ground. It had the desired effect of sending a dome-shaped shockwave of Twilight in all directions, which immediately annihilated the three now visible Soulless.

"**Good. You are ready."** The voice said, and Twilight began creeping up his form, **"Do not be afraid young one… for you are a Chaser of Infinity."**

He then blacked out.


	2. Homeland

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 2**

**Homeland**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

(Atra Terris)

The figure from before opened his eyes, and saw the lid of a sarcophagus.

He silently lifted the lid and sat up. Looking around his room, he saw that nothing was out of the ordinary.

The floor was covered in old and slightly worn tatami mats.

The far wall was covered head to toe in rows of weapons of various different types and makes that he had collected from his defeated enemies in his travels. There were all different types of pole weapons, swords, spears, axes, beam weapons (an imitation of bladed weapons, but where the blade was supposed to be, there was an energy beam) there was even an oar that he won off a particularly eccentric warrior/fisherman.

There was a three-hundred year old statue of Death, a memento of a lost love, in the right hand corner, with his late lover's scythe in its stone hands.

A friend's ancestor's civil war trench coat was hung on a mannequin in the left hand corner, it was a dark-brown ankle-length duster. There were still mud stains and tears from its use in the trenches. He kept the coat as a memento, something to remember his friend by.

Last, there was a relatively new (unused) computer in the open closet with a headset. His sister had given it to him as a present, he would have thrown it away had his mother not cast a spell which prevented him from doing so.

The sarcophagus was an marble coffin, big enough for Tabris and one other person to lie in. The inside was lined in crimson padded velvet (beneath which was soil from Tabris' birthplace), and the lid was decorated with the image of a warrior in a cross between Japanese samurai armor, and French musketeer armor.

He sighed, he was in the bedroom of his most recent home. Said home was a small three room stone cottage on the outskirts of a forest and a small town. He had traveled to a great many places in his life, always living in poor conditions.

He looked at his calendar, December 12, 2000 (1). Next, he looked out of his window, only to have his eyes irritated slightly at seeing the sunset.

'_Something terrible is going to happen… I wonder what, and when?'_ he asked himself, but then he had doubts.

'_Or was that just another dream.'_

Tabris sighed as he lowered his hand to the floor, where to his surprise, he felt a wrapped hilt. Looking over to the far wall, he did not see any of his swords out of place, so Tabris gripped the hilt and lifted the weapon, almost hoping it was not the Hikari no Ryu.

But lo and behold, there was the scarletite weapon. He threw it to the other side of the room in disbelief, but rather than sink into the wall, it disappeared with a ripple of misplaced air, and reappeared in his hand in a whirl of silver energy.

He focused on making it vanish, and it disappeared in that same whirl. He then took a moment to center himself. Tabris had never before heard of things like this before, so he was honestly not just a little shook up about all of this.

Sighing, he began to get ready for the night.

Tabris' clothing started with a suit of gemsteel chain mail. Worn over that was a silk blood red Cavalier style button up shirt with lacey cuffs, and formfitting black velvet trousers. Hanging from his neck was a thin silver chain with his pendant at the end, pinned down tightly to his coat. Next was an elaborate formfitting black velvet cassock lined in blood red. The coat was held closed from the collar to the waist with silver clasps, and had an ornate gemsteel cuirass. Connected to the cuirass were shoulder armor that spanned from his shoulder to his halfway down his upper-arm, made from interconnecting vertical strips of metal, belted down tightly to his upper-arms by twin belts in an x-formation. The coat had vambraces, resembling turn up cuffs with silver clasps on one side. A black velvet belt with an ornate silver buckle held the coat tight to his waist. Worn on his hands were wrist length formfitting black silk gloves. A fauld which resembled his shoulder armor, was worn under his coat, belted down tightly to his thighs with twin leather belts in an x-formation. Worn under his trousers were black velvet knee-length high heeled boots, with ornate gemsteel inlay. (4)

The clothes were tailor made by Tabris himself, specifically for combat purposes, flowed over his form like liquid, and billowed freely in the wind. They were a thin and flexible velveteen and silken material that was designed for durability and freedom of movement. The metal portions of his outfit were gemsteel, a quasi-legendary alloy so strong that the only known way of working it is alchemy.

He swept his hair back into a ponytail, tying it with a black ribbon, allowing the lock of red hair to fall to his lower back, leaving his bangs parted to frame his face. Last, he wore an obsidian circlet, with a finely cut garnet centered on his forehead.

He grabbed his coffin shaped cello case (which he wore on his left arm as if it were a shield), with a secret compartment housing his beloved swords, and left.

* * *

Once outside, he climbed onto his coffee colored horse and rode into town. The town (village actually) being a small town in Canada surrounded on all sides by a forest. It was one of those small farming communities that the majority of the modern world did not think existed anymore, where everyone knew and were close friends with each other, and half of the town was related; either by blood or by marriage.

The town's residents were wiccan, and it was roughly a week from Yule, the holiday celebrating the winter solstice. It was a beautiful ceremony, he so enjoyed to sit in and observe it.

Three hundred and eight years ago, during the Salem which trials, some of the villagers (the ones who actually _were _versed in witchcraft) escaped, and headed northeast. They then discovered a large clearing in a forest, and founded this town where they could live in peace.

One would not think that a place like this would have much contact with the outside world, but in fact they did. They had several carefully and meticulously chosen couriers dedicated to bringing in new knowledge, technology, and philosophy. They were also trained in self-defense; the villagers might have been a non-violent lot (witchcraft is more or less the practice of making herbal remedies and using prayer to heal), but that did not mean the rest of the world was.

His destination was a small library near the outskirts of town, open only at night. Seven years ago, he had provided the funding for it to be built, and even helped in the construction. The construction was finished a few months later, and he managed the place ever since.

It did not pay much, but that did not really matter, as he did love working with books, except when people came in asking for the Stephanie Mayer's Twilight saga, then he just wanted to strangle them.

Then again, if the patrons asked for Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, he would gladly accommodate them… her stories were more acceptable. Right up there with those were Sheridan la Fanu's 1872 novella Carmilla, and Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

Both had a ring of truth to them, but like any mass produced tale about vampires, there were bound to be some misinterpretations, false accounts, and/or misunderstandings.

For example, Fanu's Carmilla tells the tale the lesbian vampiress semi-accurately, but leaves out several very large plot points. Even though Stoker's Dracula describes some of the events of the 1800's with some accuracy, they were incorrect about Dracula's real name and origins.

Once Tabris had arrived, he climbed off of the dark chocolate colored horse, gave the magnificent animal an apple and combed her hair with his fingers, and walked inside. It was routine, a rut he had fallen into for these past few months of peacetime. He did not even have to think anymore, his body would move automatically. This gave him strong feelings of boredom and wanderlust.

He went to sit behind the front desk in a Victorian style chair and proceeded to play his cello with his eyes a hairsbreadth from being closed, and a faint smile on his face; his default facial expression when not faced with or engaged in a serious or strenuous situation. After a few minutes, patrons started to filter in, browsing the shelves, all the while accompanied by his music.

Every so often, there would be a break in his playing. At these times, he would reach to his desk, and lift an ornate wineglass filled with blood to his lips and sip from it. The glass had a charm to keep the contents warm; blood cooled so quickly outside the body.

After a few hours, he saw a young woman in red and black clothing browsing amongst the shelves.

She was the same height as him, and she looked to be about 19. She was petite, with c-cup breasts, and a small round rump. Her red hair was short, and combed over to cover one eye. She had large red eyes that were almond shaped. Her brows were thicker and shorter than his. Her skin was snow white and translucent.

She wore a modified long sleeved blood red velvet doublet, it began at the middle of her neck, and went down to the middle of her shoulder blades, and it was open in the front save for a thin white thread brooch, which fastened to both sides with a frog design. On her torso was a black leather corset with a white threaded design. She wore formfitting black leather trousers with grey bands going down her legs at irregular intervals. On her feet, she wore black medium-high heeled leather boots with silver soles. On her waist was a white leather belt, attached to which was a blood red open in the front velvet skirt-like garment, that flowed like liquid down to her ankles. (5)

She also wore an obsidian circlet, however her garnet was smaller than his, but the difference in size was not noticeable upon first glance.

Her clothes were custom made from extremely expensive and high-quality materials. He often told her that such a thing was wasteful, as Inala or Tabris himself could simply make clothes for her with the superior materials of the Netherworld, but she would always refuse for no reason other than to bug him.

He smirked, official human records stated that her name was Kala Valentine, and that he was tutoring her on the weekends.

But, as said before, that was just the official story. In truth she was Xero, his little sister, and the vampire princess. Much of her physical features were derived from her father, contrariwise Tabris looked almost exactly like their mother.

She had, at best, a rather strange personality, was a moderate fighter (by her brother's standards), and was quite the pervert. Going out of her way to rub up against her sparring partners whenever possible, much to her mother and brother's chagrin.

His smirk fell the moment their eyes met, and she opened her mouth and shouted overexcitedly "BROTHER!" she ran up and jumped, aiming a sloppy kick at him. He nonchalantly blocked with his black adamantite cello case/shield, while drinking from a wineglass filled with blood.

However, this time she anticipated his action, as the same scene played out many times before. She flipped, grabbing his cello case, and landed with her pelvis in his face. She hooked her knees behind his head and bent down, hugging his head.

The act caused him to drop his glass, which would have spilled on the antique wood floor, had he not caught it with his foot.

The few people in the store stared dumbstruck, he hooked his fingers in her belt and pulled her off. He dropped her, and then recaptured her by her brooch and pulled her in till their noses were barely an inch apart.

"What do you want, Kala?" He said menacingly, to which she replied "nothing." She smiled and stuck out her tongue flippantly.

In response, he threw her down on her face, hard. When she righted herself, she sat with her legs arranged in a w shape, as she pouted. "Aw, Master! You're so mean!" She said, rubbing her face, which was not really hurt at all.

"Stop calling me that." he murmured, half turning away… "But I thought you liked it when I call you Ma-" she started innocently with an undertone of licentiousness, her expression resembling a puppy dog pout. But she did net get to finish as she was interrupted by a roundhouse kick to her chin, sending her flying to the other side of the shop.

His reasons for doing so was that he knew where she was going with that rant.

"Do not even go there! You know we can't talk about that in present company…"

He walked over to her, and picked her up by her brooch. "I had a weird dream last night" she said with a genuinely scared look on her face. _'Once again, she changes the subject. Not that I mind though…'_

His face fell slack, as he listened to her talk. As she explained, he sent a mental command to the humans in the store to leave, then he set her down in a chair and gave her a pack of medical blood, and refilled his wineglass. "So,-" he started when she finished "-it happened to both of us then." he said thoughtfully…

"Both of us?" she asked in a half hopeful manner. "Yes. I had that dream too." he said, summoning Hikari no Ryu as an afterthought. She gasped at the sight, "so pwetty" she said childishly, with starry eyes, "can you take nothing seriously?" he deadpanned, "but it is! Look at it, that sword is beautiful!"

He looked upon the sword absently.

"Oh, you're too serious!" she said, slapping his shoulder. "You've got to lighten up!

"So, what do we do now?" she asked, sipping from her half empty bag, "well, I showed you mine, you show me yours" he deadpanned. Xero smirked salaciously and moved to stand and hooked her thumbs into her belt, and he gave her a warning glare. She giggled and summoned her Keyblade.

Her weapon looked to be a cross between a European long sword and a skeleton key.

The sword was 50.5" long overall. The blade was 37.25" long, and 2.5" wide, and was made of scarletite. Sticking out of one side back of the blade, 3" from the tip, was a bladed omega shape. The guard was scarletite as well, it encircled the hilt completely, and resembled the guard of a saber. The hilt was 13.25", and the and was a plain metal bar wrapped in black chord. Connected to the pommel by a hook-like protrusion, was a 5" long chain, and at the end was a British lion emblem. (Dark Keyblade: Princess of Darkness)

"Very nice" he said, appraising it _'not something I would ever be caught dead with, but the blade suits her.'_ "What is his name?" he asked, to which she simply replied "Princess Blade." He sighed, "of course it is."

"Umm…" She said, drawing his attention, "what do you mean by 'his'?" She asked in confusion. He looked at her blankly, _'she may be smart, but never will she be known to be terribly wise or insightful.'_

"The Keyblade is no ordinary weapon. They are sentient, and you know how nobody likes to be called an 'it'." Tabris told the girl in a lecturing tone.

The girl pouted her lips and said "no, I don't know. No one has ever called me an 'it' before." His eyes narrowed, and he responded "very well. You are a thing. Does not feel so good, now does it?" She looked at him blankly with one eyebrow raised, as if to say she felt nothing. He sighed heavily at his sister's ignorance.

"I guess, we should leave" Xero said abruptly, and at Tabris' inquiring look, she explained "tell the others about this, I mean, what if the thing the guide was warning us about is the end of the world or something else even more scary like?"

"Hmm, I guess so. Let us go then." he said, and with that, he turned around and, holding the door for her and locking up, they went to his steed.

"Hey, can I drive?" she exclaimed, completely ignoring the fact that one could not drive a horse, he guessed that she was asking if she could ride in front. "No" he answered calmly after a moment of stupefied staring, and ignored her as she proceeded to curse at him.

He climbed up, and reached down to help her up as well. She sat behind him, hugging him around the waist and nuzzled her head lovingly against his back. With nothing better to do, as the horse knew where to go, he let his thoughts drift to his station within the community.

To understand his particular station however, one had to understand vampire society itself.

Vampire society was somewhere between a mafia and a hierarchy. Like the mafia, the strongest/smartest stood at the top, having earned the title Dark Lord; and like a hierarchy, the Dark Lord was treated like a king or queen.

The current Dark Lord was Queen Inala. Her second in command (her wife) was, Queen Morenn, despite her not being a Noble.

Every vamp possessed some other rank of nobility, as they were known as 'The Aristocrats/The Nobles' in the Netherworld.

The caste system of Noble culture was as thus:

* Lord of Shadows: Vampiric royalty; the bloodline descending directly from the very first vampire. They manifest as either strigoii (one who becomes a vampire after death) or moroii (ones who are vampires from birth). They are powerful beings, and are among the only vampires who did not wear capes.

* Vampire Elder: Vampires that have lived for over a century regain their human forms. They have a talent with black magic.

* Vampire Warrior: These are newly created vampires that show little humanity. They have bat-like wings and faces, and have the ability to fly. They are fairly weak in comparison to older vampires. They burn when exposed to direct sunlight, and begin to turn to ash, unless they move back into darkness.

* Dhampir: half-breed born from a single Noble parent. They do not become Vampire Warriors, and instead have more human traits from birth (especially if their mother was the human parent).

Tabris was the child of a vampire and a human, but was born as a human, and became a vampire after his death at age 64, making him both a Dhampir and a Strigoii.

Xero, on the other hand, was a Moroii. Though the circumstances of her birth were a mystery, as Inala had never been with another man after Hamal's death.

Two hundred and ten ago, Inala encountered Hamal, a seventeen year old metahuman vampire slayer, and they fought. Inala won in the end, surprisingly not having to hold back at all. After that they fell for each other for reasons unknown, even to her son.

Ten years later, their union resulted in a son who was hated by the majority of the demonic and human races.

The boy were hated by the humans simply because Hamal had abandoned his life mission to be with a "living personification of death".

Although the term was originally coined with the purpose of disparaging an entire race (in layman's terms, a racial slur), it was actually the most accurate description anyone has ever thought up. Thus, the vampires have taken up using the term themselves, causing it to lose all meaning as a racial slur (except when used by humans in a malignant way).

Demons showed distaste toward him for nothing more than the human blood running through his veins. As well as the fact that Inala had stopped drinking blood until Hamal's death, the act almost killing her.

Tabris was pushed around more than Xero because he was born without one of the vampire's most vital abilities; the ability to transmute his aura energy into physical strength and speed (6), but made up for it by studying white magic.

While black magic (a common practice by vampires) was fuelled by Darkness, white magic was fuelled by Light. The studying of both of these arts brought a balance to Tabris that compensated for his lack of vampiric strength.

However, vampires were the most human of all demons. Hatred and mistrust stemming from misunderstanding was an undeniable human trait, one that vampires, regrettably, possess.

But due to their long lifespan, demons could not breed often, making any children rare. Thus it goes without saying that children were greatly cherished. This was somewhat less so for half-breeds.

Some of the more spite-filled humans even went so far as to try to kill the newborns, but the attempts stopped after Hamal was killed. In a rage, Inala annihilated every one of the would-be assassins, as well as their families and loved ones, to discourage any future attempts.

One hundred years later (fifty years ago today), Inala remarried. But once again, it was to the dismay of the power hungry elders, for she had married a dryad, a type of wood nymph. The elders thought they could use Inala's mate to control her, but Morenn, the queen's bride, was more powerful than anything they could control.

Xero, due to the vampire society being a matriarchal one, was widely recognized, and grudgingly celebrated as Inala's heir to the throne. Thus she was not mistreated, unlike him. Because of this, his disposition was one of solemnity, humility, and contentment. Whereas she was the complete opposite; a naive smartass with no sense of class, style, or taste.

Inala even had to (frequently) dress her to keep her from going outside in mismatched monstrosities.

Xero was very naïve to the ways of the world, a trait which allowed her to be easily manipulated, much to the council's glee. She was loud, brash, and went far too overboard in her attempts to annoy him.

In one of her 'crusades' to annoy him, she had inadvertently left him with a severe case of heartache.

Before he knew it, he was at her coven. Her house was very large (seven hundred square feet), and very old (three hundred years) Victorian style castle. This was where the council of elders would gather for meetings. It was close to ten miles away from the town, halfway between the inner and outer borders of the Forest of Eternal Night.

They climbed off, he gave the horse a bushel (7) of apples, and they headed into the large double doors.

As they passed through the house, they received glances from the other children of the elders. Aside for meetings, the elder's children lived there, barring Tabris, of course. Not that he had wanted to live there, as he had learned in his travels that there was a simple honor in poverty.

They headed down the ominous corridors to the council chamber, a large circular room with a long glossy black table with intricate silver designs on the sides spanning it, and about five intricately decorated chairs on each side, and two on one end (8).

The Vampire High Council convened regularly once a month, but the elders could be summoned in case of an emergency, as was the case now. The high council's main purpose was to hide the existence of the supernatural from humans. Humans greatly outnumbered vampires, and the fact that vampires, especially vampire warriors, were vulnerable to blessed/silver weapons, water, sunlight and fire did not help any.

Xero took her seat, at the left side of Morenn's designated seat. Tabris took his own seat, opposite of Xero's, and to the right of Inala's.

The placements had significance as well.

The right-hand side was the side for cultural protectors. Fighters whose job was to protect the Noble community and secrets. He sat at the head of the right side, signifying that he was the best fighter, trainer of new recruits, and general.

The left-hand side was for the Queen's personal advisors. Their job was to advise the Queen on which side to take in war, in dealings with humans, est. Xero was at the head of the advisors side; while she may not have any sense of taste, she was very much smarter and wiser than most gave her credit for.

Xero tapped her finger on the side of the table, which thanks to scientific advances, had a supercomputer build into it. What she actually touched, was the hidden power switch, and several dimly lit panels lit up on the surface. With a few key strokes, she summoned the council members.

Roughly two minutes later, eight of the Elders teleported into the chairs, and then Inala and Morenn appeared in the two throne-like chairs at the head of the table.

Inala was a tall, Junoesque woman. She looked to be almost thirty, and had the same figure as Xero, albeit with a bit more muscle. She had long blood red hair, blood red eyes, and a sharp, angular face. She wore a formfitting black velvet cassock with intricate patterns on the cuffs. Next were black high heeled boots and gloves. On her forehead was an obsidian circlet with a large star-cut garnet.

Morenn looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was shorter, but had a fuller figure than her wife. She had short, wild black hair, emerald green eyes, and a more rounded face. She had forest green skin with vibrant red tribal markings. She wore an outfit resembling a 1-piece swimsuit made from vines and leaves (but considering her tendency to wear nothing at all, Tabris was grateful for the change). She carried a 24" scepter made from black ash wood (which had a suspicious scent), and wore a circlet, but rather than garnet, there was crystallized absinth. She was not as intimidating as her wife, but was still frightening as hell when she wanted to be.

The woman to the left of Xero was a Chinese elder. Her name was Fei Zhi. She was bald, and wore a jade headdress, as well as a black tai chi chuan gi with red frogs and cuffs, black slippers, and a black cape. On her waist was a sheathed jian. She was the one who spoke first.

"What is the purpose of this gathering?" she asked in a heavy Chinese accent, in response, Xero and Tabris summoned their Keyblades and telekinetically hovered them over the table. Inala and a few other's eyes widened in recognition, "Keyblade…" Ferris, a nondescript redheaded male elder who sat two seats down from Tabris muttered thoughtfully.

"I have not seen one since the war…" remarked Inala.

Kagura, a Japanese elder that held particular animosity for the resident princeling, looked to him and growled. She sat at the end of the right side of the table. "Explain this, you cur!"

Tabris looked at Kagura with confusion. She was a Japanese elder with long black hair and a crimson kimono and black cape. She bore intense hatred for him, stemming from the fact that she was his worst student, too old and set in her ways to learn anything from him. He had said so to her once and she got mad and challenged him.

After two decades, her emotional wounds were still healing.

The rather aggressive female would normally attempt to do more than just threaten. Tabris smirked, taking it as a sign that the relic understood the significance of a Keyblade, and thusly could not do anything, so he simply smirked. The male Lord of Shadows could feel the other's glares burning holes into his head, as he looked to his mother. She wore a smug smirk, knowing full well that if he were indeed a chosen one, it would bring him out of his semi-exile.

"So it is real. I thought I was just high." the elder to his right, Ninotchka, said in a heavy Russian accent.

She summoned a similar Keyblade, and hovered it over the table.

The rapier was 44.5" long overall. The blade was 36.5" long, and 1" wide, with a 1" deep curvature, and was made of scarletite. Out of the back of the blade, 4" from the tip, was a two-dimensional rose. The guard was scarletite as well, it resembled a basket guard, and encircled the hilt completely. The hilt was 8", and the and was a plain metal. Connected to the pommel by a hook-like protrusion, was a 7" long tassel, and at the end was a black rose blossom. (Dark Keyblade: Precious Rose)

"Ah, you too my dear Nina?" The prince replied, suddenly very interested.

The woman to his left growled, and her eyes glowed with a deadly light at the (misinterpreted) challenge. She was a Russian elder, in life, she had been a KBG assassin, stereotypically so.

Her physical age was thirty. She had long, messy black hair, dark blue eyes, a large nose, and her eyes were slightly too far apart, and she was full-figured. She was the exact opposite of Kagura, in that she was his greatest student. Ninotchka was the lieutenant, but was his rival for the general position.

She wore a skintight blood red silk long sleeved shirt and trousers. Over that was a black velvet corset, held closed at either side by silver clasps. On her wrists were black velvet vambraces, held closed by silver clasps. Last were black velvet boots with silver clasps running up the front like laces. Last was a black silk cape. (9)

Her outfit was made in a similar manner to his own, being his second in command.

She rose to her feet and leveled her revolver at him, which she had used on many occasions to blow a hole through his head, sometimes as the result of a battle, other times for no reason (as was the case now).

It was a double barreled revolver. The 11" long, and ½" wide barrels were made of gemsteel, and were decorated with rose shaped runes. At the base of the horizontal dual barrels were dual revolving chambers. The handle was unordinary, except for an ironwood grip, and hooked to it was a silver chain, with a silver bullet charm. (Alchemy Dual-Revolver: Archer)

Tabris rose from his chair and brought out his concealed wakizashi.

The wakizashi was 20.5" long overall. The blade was 16.5" long, 0.2" wide, and had a 0.5" curvature. The guard was black, with a 1.5" diameter, and the hilts were 4". (Wakizashi no Renkinjutsu: Yami no Waiban)

Inala immediately halted the impending fight by throwing kunai into their foreheads.

Morenn simply shook her head with a chuckle.

The assassin and the princeling fell back into their chairs, seemingly lifeless. The other elders were disappointed that there would not be a fight this time. During every council meeting, Ninotchka (10) got into a fight with someone, mostly Tabris, the reason for this being that as a child she was brainwashed by the KGB, as most of their assassins were.

The damage to her mind was repaired upon being turned, however her violent streak remained. Her behavior amused the other elders, unless of course they were the targets of her ire.

However, the source of hostility between Ninotchka and Tabris was different than anyone suspected. Ninotchka and Tabris had a love/hate relationship. He met her 42 years ago when she was still a Vampire Warrior, and they began a rivalry. It was sexual tension that sprouted up every time they met.

They had much in common, yet they hated each other completely. As such, every time they met, things started out with heated glares, and ended in passions embrace.

The two sat up again, and pulled the throwing knives out of their heads, where the wounds closed right up.

"Indeed. But we have something more pressing to address, if the reappearance of Keyblades on this world means what I think it does" said an elder with platinum blond hair, and ocean colored eyes. Celia was one of the few elders that Tabris had any respect for.

"Yes. I called this meeting to discuss what my vision meant." Xero started, "in my dream, the voice said that there was to be some unfortunate accident, and this Key thing was so that I could survive it."

The elders growled, not liking her tone. They were fast growing tired of her flippant attitude.

"Survive? Not avert?" Inala spoke, and as always her words wore short and to the point.

"No, the voice said that what is to happen could not be stopped." Tabris said. To the side, Nina bit into her bottom lip.

"Now that you mention it, stars have been going out recently. It could be an omen…" Morenn spoke in, strangely enough, a French accent, "and on top of that, I have been sensing a feeling of great dread from the planet."

"When a Keyblade appears, disaster always follows. In the past, many there have been who used the Keyblade to avert disaster. But many more still who have invited said disaster. If you have been told that you're purpose was merely to survive a calamity, then this could only mean that terrible things are coming, that cannot be undone." Inala spoke, the most she has said at once in decades.

"I think it might mean the end of this world." Xero confessed her fears, which started a clamor as the elders argued amongst themselves.

Tabris sighed, _'this could go on for hours. I should just leave.' _He moved to stand up, but all the other council members stopped to stare at him with angry expressions, so he just sat back down and sighed.

* * *

(1) The date is to express my feelings toward the 2012 theory. I believe something is going to happen, but I do not think it is going to be an end. Also, the date itself has significance, but that will not be evident until much later.

(2) Tabris outfit is loosely based on Joachim Armster from Cstlevania.

(4) Tabris outfit is loosely based on Joachim Armser's, with my own personal touches.

(5) Xero's outfit is based on Fallon by Cyzra on deviant art.

(6) This is the most powerful ability from Rosario+Vampire, I thought it would fit.

(7) I am not entirely sure if this is the proper term for a group of apples.

(8) Picture the council chamber from Final Fantasy Versus XIII, I have never played the game, but I have seen the trailer.

(9)

(10) I am not very familiar with Russian names, so I used the name of the KGB assassin from D.E.B.S.


	3. Finis Atra Terris

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 3**

**Finis Atra Terris**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

(Atra Terris)

Tabris opened his eyes, only to see the lid of his sarcophagus. He silently sat up, sparing one hand to lift the lid.

The meeting the night before had, as expected, lasted hours, well into morning. It was, however, postponed, as they needed to sleep.

He looked down, and saw the smiling visage of Ninotchka. He smiled faintly, and reached down to caress her hair.

She unconsciously leaned into his touch and murmured something that sounded like "my princeling."

He shook her awake, with the intention of getting up for the night. Shaking her didn't work, as he expected. Ninotchka was normally a very light sleeper. But whenever they slept together, a feeling of safety overcame her and she refused to wake.

He groaned, as he knew that only one thing would wake her from her deeper than usual slumber. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, _'I wish Xero had never shown her that Sleeping Beauty film.'_

Her eyes blinked open, but before he could stand up, she pulled him back down.

They had finished their latest mating session, and now stood fully dressed.

Sheathed at her waist was Athiir, an adamantine rapier.

His own outfit went entirely unaltered, as it was already at optimum fighting capability.

He reached into the compartment in the lid of his cello case to get his beloved sword.

The katana was made for him by Inala, the forging of the blade's various components having taken ten years collectively. It was sharp enough and strong enough to cut through anything, via the Dark Magic his mother had imbued into it, using up a large portion of her power to do so.

The wakizashi was made by Tabris himself after becoming a master blacksmith and alchemist. It was identical to Yami no Ryu in enchantments, materials, and aesthetic style, but was only about half as strong.

He used a bit of magic to seal his sarcophagus into his left shoulder, and his cello into his right.

He felt the earth tremble violently. The words of the guide echoed in his head, _**'Something terrible is going to happen… soon.' **__'Is it happening?!'_ He thought, as he ran outside.

He stopped, but Nina didn't, and she left the cottage before he could dwell on it. He made sure he had Yami no Ryu with him. It was sheathed on the back of his cuirass, along with Hikari no Ryu in an x-formation.

His eyes softened, the sword was among his most treasured possessions, and the manifestation of perfection in his mind. His sword was all of his ideals as a warrior made real, an opinion shared by many true swordsmen.

He steeled his mind, and ran out the doors with a sense of dread. He gasped as he saw the forest and town, all the trees, houses, and people had seemingly disintegrated, leaving a flat, barren plain, with hundreds of beings in pure white armor welding Keyblades.

Minions of the Light.

A beam of Light came at him, he jumped away and noticed that when it hit his cottage. It disintegrated, so he may not have been too far off base.

He growled, unsheathed his swords and ran in the direction of Inala's castle. It was a slow going course, as it took a while destroy just one of them. But with each one of them destroyed, he could feel himself getting slightly stronger.

There were even Soulless here, they were creations and underlings to the Minions. There were the ones he saw before, and even a few new ones, these were weaker than the Prisms, but not by much. They were little more than monsters with claws, and completely ignored their ability to manipulate light

They were all white and feminine in design, with a grey metal Cross Flory Fetch riveted to its chest, a Cross Moline riveted to its thighs, with dagger shaped lower legs. A halo hovering over its head, a Cross Fluery riveted over its head like a mask. A metal collar was riveted around its neck, with segmented metal bands of armor coming down from its biceps to its hands, forming into metal claws at the end with riveted silver bracelets around its wrists. (Pureblood Soulless: Fanatic)

After a while, Tabris made it to the house, only to see that the giant mansion was now just a pile of rubble and cinders, which Nina was searching through, and in the sky was an enormous sphere of Light.

A moving piece of rubble caught his attention, and he ran over to move it, revealing Xero. She looked up with a surprised face, "Tabris!"

She suddenly latched onto him as if he was her last lifeline, wrapping her arms around his neck, and sobbed into his shoulder. "Please… please help…" she started to say, but her voice was almost a slur from her sobs.

"Everyone… everyone is…" her knees gave out, and he had to hold her up. "Everyone is dead!" Xero finally said, and Tabris' eyes widened in shock and sorrow. "Even Momma!" she continued saying, but Tabris' mind was long gone.

He just could not believe it!

There were around one hundred Nobles on this word, being outnumbered by humans by more than ten million to one, but a vamp of average strength is roughly ten times as strong as an athletic human (3). Furthermore, the elders were at least one hundred times more powerful than that, due to their advanced age (4).

On top of that, Inala was ten times stronger than an elder! Finally, Morenn was about half as strong as Inala. He could not believe that there was anything powerful enough to destroy all of them!

There had to be survivors besides them. There just had to be!

"They just… caught us off guard. Some of them went in their sleep… others tried to fight back, but were unprepared. As for our mothers, well, these guys had the sense to strike during their most vulnerable moment." She managed to say through her sobbing, although that last part was particularly clear of sobbing.

Tabris had a deadpanned expression on his face, as well as a slight blush at the term 'their most vulnerable moment'.

Their attention was drawn outward again, when the orb of Light pulsed, and a giant Soulless dropped down. Their symbiotic armor instinctively appeared, and they summoned their Keyblades in preparation for combat.

Nina's armor resembled black muscle tissue, the armor was grey over her breasts, abdominal muscles, and her forearms. Part of the armor were grey knee-high boots, with black metal knee guards and soles. Around her waist was a grey belt, hanging from which was knee length black skirt-like garment, it was open in the front, and the black faded into grey near the hemline.

Xero's armor resembled black muscle tissue, the armor was red over her breasts, abdominal muscles, and her forearms. Part of the armor were red knee-high boots, with black metal knee guards and soles. Around her waist was a purple belt, hanging from which was knee length black skirt-like garment, it was open in the front, and the black faded into red near the hemline.

This Soulless was all white like the last few, had the same glowing halo over its head, with the same grey Cross Flory Fetch riveted onto its chest, a grey Cross Fluery riveted down on its mask, and a grey Cross Moline riveted down to its thighs. This one however had two billowing wings with ivory colored feathers, segmented grey armor riveted to both arms from the biceps down with spiked white brass knuckles over its hands, a grey collar was riveted to its neck, and its legs ended in daggers like the rest. (Pureblood Soulless: Juggernaut)

His eyes misted over, as the spellbinder glowed, informing him of this new foe. '_A Juggernaut… largest of all Soulless and the inverse of a Darkside Heartless. Beware their power as they can bring entire worlds into a never ending Light…'_

It was at that moment, that he sensed a presence. Its power was overwhelming, and he noticed it belonged to a figure in the distance. It was a Minion, however this one had gold accents to his armor. On his back were six massive angel like wings, and above his head was a C shaped halo.

But as soon as Tabris saw him, the Minion disappeared in a flash of light.

Ninotchka unsheathed Athiir.

The rapier was 44.5" long overall. The blade was 36.5" long, and 1" wide, with a 1" curvature and was made of silver adamantine; it was a gorgeous gleaming silver in color. The basket hilt was silver adamantite, and was designed with a rose motif. The handle was 8", and wrapped in black braided silk. The scabbard was ironwood with a black piano paint finish. (Rapier de l'Alchimie: Athiir)

In her left hand was Precious Rose.

He grabbing his swords (which he had dropped when Xero grabbed him). Xero held Princess Blade in her right hand, and had a long sword in her left.

The long sword was 50.5" long overall. The blade was 37.25" long, 2.5" wide, and was made of silver adamantine; it was a gorgeous gleaming silver in color, with a design depicting an eruption. The hilt was 13.25", and was made from ironwood, wrapped in red braided silk. The hilt collar, pommel, butt cap, and guard were black adamantite and were designed with fleur-de-lis motif. The base of the blade had its name etched into it in German. The scabbard was ironwood with a black piano paint finish. (Langschwert der Alchemie: Ozean des Feuers)

He crouched into a stance, only for the thing to (in a surprisingly fast motion), grab him and throw him into the air. Faintly, over the rush of the wind, he heard Nina yell his name. As he flew hundreds of feet into the air, instructions were telepathically entered into his mind, via the symbiotic armor.

Apparently, he could use the cape to replicate the Demon Wings ability, which was the reason all self respecting vampires (aside from the Lords of Shadow) wore capes(5). He concentrated, and the cape reshaped itself into a pair of bat like wings.

He looked down, and his face dropped as the Juggernaut was using its massive wings to fly up to him. Thinking fast, he threw Hikari no Ryu at it, it sailed through the air, end over end, creating a purple spiral shape. He gritted his teeth as the monster caught it in its hand, blackening the thing's skin.

He re-summoned it, before it could close its hand, and possibly crush it. It caught up to him, and grabbing him again and threw him to the ground. He tried to use his pseudo-wings to stop, or at least slow down. But he was engulfed in a sphere of Light, the sphere was making him gain momentum, until he slammed into the ground, creating a small crater.

Were he a human, he would have died instantly. But fortunately, his incredibly dense body allowed him to survive the fall. He got up with a grimace, and looked up to see the Juggernaut throwing its halo at him.

His eyes widened as he jumped out of the way of the razor sharp circle of Light which bored halfway into the ground.

All the while, Xero was hesitant to move. Tabris may have been a master of both armed and unarmed combat, but she was just a street fighter. True, he was the one who taught her to fight, but she ignored most of his lessons, preferring to go out and develop her skills the same way he did.

The difference between their skill levels could be likened to Musashi himself versus a street thug (6)! What is more, this thing was throwing him around like a rag doll.

Initially Xero was much stronger than Tabris. This made him angry, to have been outclassed so severely by (in his words) a spoiled brat. So he sought out Atra Terris' best martial artists. In essence, the only thing he had gained from them was his speed and reflexes. He did not conform any actual style, instead he fought them and allowed his own style to develop from his own innate abilities of endurance and adaptation.

The outcome, Tabris' fighting style was erratic and highly unpredictable, but blindingly fast and devastatingly effective.

Eventually it came to a point that while she still possessed more raw power than him (but that was just vampire nature, females had more power than males), but was something that could be remedied with time. But in a contest of skill, Tabris could easily lay Xero out flat in under a minute.

Inhaling, she pulled herself together. She reminded herself that while he was more skilled and experienced than her, she possessed far more raw power. Grinning, she looked at Nina, and they had a mental discussion on a coordinated attack. They focused their power into their blades, and swung them through the air. Four black arcs exploded from the tips, slamming into the back of the Juggernaut.

The Soulless wailed in pain, giving Tabris the distraction he needed to jump onto its hand. He stabbed Hikari no Ryu and Yami no Ryu into it, and ran up to its shoulder, creating twin gashes gash that disintegrated the flesh around it, the wound from Yami no Ryu disintegrating faster. When he got to its shoulder, he reared back with his blades, and cut its arm off with a cross slash.

'_Twilight is not efficient enough! Maybe if I try using Darkness separately…'_

It wailed again, and brushed him off with its wing. As Tabris was sailing though the air, he took a leaf out of Xero's book, he channeled his power into his blades, and sent a twin black arcs in a cross at the Juggernaut, slashing though its belly. The effects of Darkness turned out to be far more damaging, disintegrating its flesh at a rapid pace.

Smirking, he then cut the air with his swords to send more Dark arcs, slicing into large portions of its flesh, the Darkness disintegrating whatever portions of its body was not destroyed in the initial blasts.

The defeated Juggernaut, or what was left of it, fell to the ground, causing a small tremor. Dropping to his hands and knees, his face drenched in crimson sweat, Tabris groaned as he let his wounds regenerate.

Xero worriedly crouched next to him, "are you okay?" she asked worriedly, "I will be-" Tabris was interrupted by Nina as she pulled him into a bruising kiss. After a few minutes she pulled away and said "oh gods, I am so hot for you right now."

Looking at her blankly, Tabris raised an eyebrow. "I would expect you to still be tired." She smirked, and said "Well, some. Judging by the way you did in that fight just now, I would say you are downright exhausted."

He adopted a thoughtful look for a moment, and replied, "more or less, I think I was going on half my normal reserves."

"Argh! You two! You guys should just fuck and get it your systems already!" She yelled, frustrated at what she thought was sardonic banter between bitter enemies.

Both of the more serious ones present looked at her blankly "yeah" they both said in a drawn out way. She huffed, and then leaned her head to one side and said, "Well, do you guys want to go now. There is nothing left here for us."

Tabris' and Ninotchka's faces adopted a saddened expression, as her thoughtless remark reminded them of the situation. "Ok, let 's go. But I am not completely sure if there is anything out there for us to go to." He said hopelessly.

He sheathed his sword, and pulled it from the ground, wiping off the dirt.

"Well, that remains to be seen. Besides, I learned something from the guide that I am quite sure you did not" she said flippantly. Tabris rose an eyebrow. " Oh, and what is that?" he asked in a sardonic manner.

She smirked, and held one hand out in front of her. An doorway of Darkness opened up, "how to travel the Corridors of Darkness, my good sir." She said in a terrible impression of his accent, without response, as the trio disappeared into it.

But, she had lied, and both twins knew it. Xero did not open the Corridor of Darkness, it was a naturally occurring one. The fact that it opened at that exact moment was mere coincidence.

Or not, as Tabris did not believe in happenstance. He believed that in all the worlds, in all the cosmos, nothing was mere coincidence. Everything that ever happened was connected, like the entire cosmos was tied together by a web. Or so Tabris believed anyway.

But, where they would come out of the portal, and even if they should be together when they did, she did not know, for they were to be sent where they were needed most.

* * *

AN: I am 6'1", with an arm span of 6'4". A person's arm span is **supposed** to be the same length as their height, but I guess normalcy has never really been my style. My swordsmanship style is very dance like, due to my going to dance classes to improve my footwork.

(1) This is based on an actual katana. It was forged by Muramasa, but the sword itself was not very famous.

(2) A frog is either a decorative loop or fastener on clothing, or a sword harness typically used for rapiers, in this case it's the latter.(3) An average vampire in this story is roughly equivalent to Luis from the Vampire Chronicles.

(4) Think Akasha's level of strength after she stole the strength from Enkil.

(5) This is a canon ability from Castlevania.

(6) Miyamoto Musashi was arguably Japan's greatest swordsman.


	4. The Journey Begins

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 4**

**The Journey Begins**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought"**_

* * *

(?)

Tabris opened his eyes, and groaned. He sat up and cracked his neck. Upon looking around, he saw houses reminiscent of the dark ages. Upon looking closer, they were all boarded up, but they were not empty, as he could hear people moving around in them.

He heard the villagers call him a 'yoma', bringing him out of his reverie. He frowned, yoma were a lower class demon, dead and rotting, unpleasant things that fed on human innards.

Naturally, he was insulted to be referred to as such a lowlife monster. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and listened in on the villagers for more information. Apparently, he had just appeared in the middle of the road, and the yoma fearing villagers ran to their houses, hoping for some semblance of safety.

The word 'claymore' caught his attention. Now the strange thing about that, was that the villagers did not use that word to refer to a weapon, but rather a person. A so called 'silver eyed witch'.

It was then that he remembered Xero and Ninotchka, he stood up and looked around in a panic, but they were nowhere to be seen.

'_They better be safe'_ he thought angrily.

The former was his sister. Although he never particularly liked her, he did tolerate her, and that was enough. The two were close. They confided in each other and loved each other. Although it did not take much to bring them to blows.

The latter was his lover. Despite all the hardships they had, they did indeed love one another (in a self destructive sort of way). They had left their mark on one another, and therefore their hearts, souls, and bodies were bound together for all time.

Just then, he heard two sets of footsteps, one much heavier than the other, coming from opposite directions. The heavy one was closer, at the most one hundred feet away, and the light one was at least one hundred and fifty feet away. They were both going at a slow walk, but the heavier being had a longer gait, thus moving faster.

Tabris moved his right hand up to grip Yami no Ryu hilt. He then turned his head to look over his shoulder, and there was a thirty foot tall humanoid yoma. It was a hideous thing, with shriveled skin, no eyes, slits for nostrils, and a wide mouth filled with razor teeth. He winced, it's stench was almost overwhelming to such a sensitive nose as his.

The yoma rushed him, and he blurred from sight and when he reappeared, he slowly re-sheathed his blade. It was an attack called omnislash, an attack that slashed 3000 times in the blink of an eye. Tabris was the only living being who knew how to use it, and he would never teach it, it ws far too destructive in the wrong hands. It was created by his teacher, and even he had to use a controlled system of weighs and bursts of speed to use it, but Tabtis could accomplish it wth his natural speed.

Just as it clicked closed, the Yoma fell to pieces, unleashing a repugnant reek.

He turned to face the opposite direction, and arched an eyebrow. The so-called silver eyed witch was in fact a beautiful adolescent girl. Her silver hair was very long, the back being hip-length, her bangs fell to just beneath her small chest, and it was clipped short over her eyes. Her facial features were small and narrow, save for her eyes which were large and childlike.

She wore a Roman army-like uniform, stylized in an Art Deco manner. It consisted of a gray two-piece formfitting suit, with a mock-neck dickie marked with a strange cross-like symbol near the base of the throat. Over this, she wore several pieces of armor: shin-high high-heeled sabatons, large vambraces, spaulders, a skirt-like fauld, and a short, hip-length cape. Her strange look was completed by a large claymore, easily as long as she was tall, worn on her back.

The back was the easiest place to carry a sword, but not for one like that. When carried on the back, the weight is evenly distributed throughout the entire body. Even so, that enormous blade looked to weigh up toward ten kilograms but she just stood there as if that blade weighed nothing.

Tabris turned to walk closer, as did the female warrior. They stopped when they were within feet of each other. The two stared into the other's eyes for a minute, then his nose caught her scent, _'a cambion (half-demon)? No, she is a human with demon flesh and/or blood artificially implanted into her, an artificial cambion. But she cannot be any older than fifteen, who would do that I wonder?'_

As for how he knew that smell however; around 1000 BC, cultists had implanted vampire blood into humans, aiming to create an army of subservient dhampir soldiers.

She unsheathed her sword and attacked in a fluid motion, too fast for the human eye to see. He drew his sword and held it in front of his neck. Not a second later, the young woman's claymore slammed into the unsheathed portion of enchanted steel. Neither Yami no Ryu nor Tabris budged inch from the assault.

"You are no ordinary yoma, are you?" she asked in a youthful voice, he arched a brow and said "why are you so sure I am a yoma?" The female warrior ignored him, and said "most yoma do not have the right state of mind to do what you just did. Nor do they have the physical strength to block my blade."

His eyes narrowed, and he said sardonically "block? Right." In the simple movement of extending his arm, he pushed her back a few feet

"Show me your strength." Tabris said confidently, unsheathing Hikari no Ryu and crouching into a Shinkendo (Way of Earnesty) twin blade stance, to which she smirked. The female warrior came at him with a flurry of slashes, most of which he blocked effortlessly.

Tabris was naturally ambidextrous, so he held Yami no Ryu (his primary sword) in his left hand. This was so that he could judge if his opponent was worthy to face his right hand.

His initial style was one of interception and counters. He would intercept his opponent's blade with his secondary sword (in this case, Hikari no Ryu), and strike at their body in a non-vital area with his primary sword (with the non bladed side). This was so he could draw the battle out and enjoy it. The secondary purpose of this was so that he could observe his opponent and incorporate any moves he found useful and aesthetically pleasing into his own arsenal.

As the battle wore on, she was getting faster, via a steady increase in her youki (demonic energy). As her energy levels rose, her muscles started to bulge, causing her veins to pop out of her skin, and her eyes turned gold with slit pupils.

'_Something is wrong. Her body should not be doing that from a simple release of youki…'_ He sighed. _'It looks like the ones who performed her surgery were total incompetents. But even so, this looks to have been a much better job than those so called 'living weapons'.'_

The said cult had somehow managed to implant vampire blood into humans without killing them. But what they created were merely mindless beasts resembling devolved vampires. All except the first subjects; the head priest's newborn twin daughters.

They retained their human forms, and were subsequently called the Queens, as they were to be the rulers of their new race.

When the Queens willingly gave their blood to a human male, that human gained demonic abilities, and answered only to the Queen whose blood turned them.

These demonic knights could not be produced quickly enough, so the cult tried to make their own using the queen's blood, however these were viewed as failures; they were raging monsters, unable to take human form ever again.

Initially, they were quite subservient, however when the one of the cultists took his 'experiments' too far, the half-breeds killed and devoured the humans.

With no one to control them, they almost ended humanity entirely, had Inala not stopped it.

He remembered the smell from their descendants, the few that Inala had left alive.

Yes, she left a few (one queen and her chevaliers) alive, and took them under her wing. Humans in France discovered her descendant in 1833. The girl was a mere mummy by then, but they had harvested two cocoons from it. From the cocoons, came two chiropteran Queens, the direct descendants of the originals.

Last he heard of them, one was living a life of comfort at the Goldschmidt mansion, the others fate was unknown to him.

What he didn't know, was that the missing twin's fate was kept secret from him by Inala, had he known he would had interfered and possibly revealed the existence of vampires to the world.

Having had enough time to fully analyze the girl's fighting style, Tabris fought back, he switched Yami no Ryu into a right grip and struck.

Unfortunately for her, she was not fast enough to block his secondary blade, and dodge his primary blade at the same time. This resulted in long, but shallow, cuts rapidly accumulating on her body.

After roughly five minutes, the trauma became to much for her to bear, and she dropped to her knees with a cry. Seeing that she was done, he asked her a question that has been on his mind since the rather one-sided fight began, "What is your name?" "R… Riful." She replied, whimpering.

He closed his eyes and said "Tabris. A pleasure I am sure." He bowed, and turned to leave. But, it would seem Riful was not about to give up, as she picked up her sword and charged. He unsheathed his swords once more, and used the omnislash.

He had some qualms with using that attack on a person, specifically a female. As his blades would cut the target from all directions, instead of just one or two as per normal. As such, any clothing would fall off.

She hesitated slightly when the attack landed, her body having not registered the pain of even having been cut to pieces yet, then she rushed him. Just as her sword was a centimeter from his neck, her eyes went ludicrously wide as her sword and all of her clothes and armor fell to the ground. The only part of her body not having an almost checkerboard pattern of cuts was her hair.

Tabris raised an eyebrow as her body, even having been cut apart, stuck together, as the wounds started to seal themselves shut. As the wounds were slowly closing up, he noticed a hideous deformation on her stomach. The deformation simply looked like an ugly bundle of nerves, nothing more. _'That must be where they put in the yoma flesh.'_

After her wounds were all closed up, her eyes flared to a molten gold, as her youki started to drastically rise. He raised the other eyebrow as her body started to change, growing, stretching, and pulling apart. Beginning to resemble maroon ribbons of a fleshy metallic substance.

Her youki exploded into the air, giving her a yellowish flame-like aura.

Her eyes rolled up into her skull, and she threw her head back, sounds somewhere between moans and growls coming from her mouth (which he noticed was filled with needle-like teeth), as her eyes changed to an iris-less, pupil-less, solid red. Her upper body turned maroon, and started rising from the ground, her legs disappeared, as they turned into masses of the ribbons.

He lowered his eyebrows as her metamorphosis came to a finish. She had glowing, pupil-less red eyes and retained a feminine humanoid form, composed of ribbon-like strips. Her lower body was an immense mass of the strips that were arranged in such a way that vaguely resembled a ball gown. But the most impressive part of her appearance however, was that in comparison with her new body, the moderate sized village looked small in scale.

'_What is all this then?'_ Her arm separated into thousands of ribbons which lengthened and flew at him at great speeds. _'She is far more powerful now. Neither dead nor rotting, she does not even stink!' _She was clearly enraged, attacking him at such a pace that he was actually having fun, she was much stronger and faster than before, but he still outclassed her.

If he had to classify her right off the top of his head, he would say that she was now more or less equal with Xero.

"Let us see how long you can keep me entertained." He said, placing Yami no Ryu on his waist. He dodged her lightning fast attacks, rather easily, but still warily.

'_It seems that she has become a full blooded yoma. But I have never seen a yoma like her before. All the yoma I have ever encountered were stupid and weak, but she seems to be very smart, and she is stronger than most baron class vampires. Could she be a new breed of subclass type demon?!'_

He grinned, liking very much that possibility. Subclass demons were evolved branches of a species in the demonic hierarchy. Vampires themselves were a subtype, having evolved from the succubus class.

Eventually she caught up with him, her ribbons sliced into him, making him grunt. He unleashed a wave of vampiric youki from his body, causing her to fall away, a large portion of her body gone.

He sighed, "well then, it looks like the fun is over" he said, his wounds as well as the tears in his clothes closing instantly. He then bowed and turned to leave, this time he was not stopped, and he vanished in a blur of motion and sound. Still enraged, the weakened Riful tried to pursue, but could not gather enough energy, and dropped to the ground, helpless.

'_How dare he…! He toyed with me! He cut me into little pieces!'_

At this she started to cry, she slammed a fist into the ground in indignant anger, causing a small crater to form.

'_The bastard even had the gall to strip me! And now he made me pass my limits and become an Awakened One! How dare he! I am Lightning Riful, number one of the first generation of all-female senshi!'_

She was pounding the ground with her fists, crying at the unfairness of it all. _'The bastard even saw my stigma!'_ Suddenly she stopped and her eyes widened, _'but he did not look disgusted, ssad.'_ As she sat, wondering at this, an old man with an axe came over to her, believing he could kill her in her weakened state.

He was wrong however, as he raised the axe, her sole remaining arm stretched and grabbed his neck. She smiled, and slammed him against the ground for her first meal.

Tabris sped through a wasteland, he had left the doomed village far behind him. He stopped once he was sure there was no one for miles around. Only then, did he allow himself to break down and cry about the fate of his family.

He unsheathed Yami no Ryu, and with a wail of immense inner pain, stabbed it into the ground. He dropped to his knees and screamed.

For hours he sat and cried, it was not in vampire nature to mourn for those loved and lost, and while he realized that Inala and Morenn would not want him to cry, _'in fact, if they saw me right now, they would beat me into a stain on the floor'_. But he could not help it. The thought that he would never see them again, it was unbearable.

He walked through a desert, having long since ceased his hysterics.

As mentioned before, it was not in the nature of an undead to mourn lost ones, they would simply rejoin the reincarnation cycle.

His movements ceased as he felt a powerful, menacing aura. _'It seems dear Riful was not the first of her kind.' _Were his thought as he unsheathed his sword and held it up to eye level. An organic looking claymore, easily larger than Tabris himself, slammed down upon it.

"**Hmm, you are strong."** A voice acknowledged, and Tabris twisted, parrying the claymore in the process, to look upon the newcomer.

It was a huge, sleek, winged, black centaur with glowing, pupil-less, ice-blue eyes. His right arm was morphed into the blade he saw previously. He was roughly 10 m tall.

"…" Tabris did not speak, but looked into the Awakened One's eyes.

"**Clearly a yoma as powerful as you can see the sense in joining my army, a refuge from the roaches of the organization ."**

Tabris narrowed his eyes,angered at once again being referred to as such a lowlife creature. He whispered the command words "control art restriction level one: **release**."

It lasted for only a fraction of a second before it was sealed away again, but being exposed to Tabris full, unrestrained power sent a deathly chill down Isleys spine, and he sank to his knees, unable to respond.

The shockwave sent one mile in every direction through the atmosphere at a Lord of Shadows true power may have only incapacitated Isley, but for those unlucky enough to not have ungodly reserves of power, namely everything living that was not Isley, Tabris, Riful, and the organizations top four was instantly killed.

The event left a scar upon the world, none would ever venture into the area infected for centuries to come, lest they suffer various demonic incarnations of horror and untimely death.

Ironically, the holy capital of Rabona would be built here in a few millennia.

* * *

(?)

The female vampire opened her eyes and stood. She cracked her neck and looked around, seeing a forest in the distance, and mountains in the opposite direction.

She thought for a moment, then headed for the mountains. As she was walking, a group of soulless came up and leered at her.

"Hmm, so you have no concern for your own safety I see." She said amusedly and held out her left hand. She concentrated, and shadows gathered into it.

"Shadow Cannon!" Shadow cannon was a minor vampire attack, meant for use as a distraction and nothing more.

Deception and theatricality were powerful agents.

But when used by a Lasombra…

A large ball of shadows burst forth from her hand and annihilated the Soulless in front of her, leaving a scar the landscape.

She chortled and went on her merry way.


	5. The Demon Prince and the Tiefling

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 6**

**Lilith**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

(Toril: Unknown Forest)

The vampire/human hybrid known as Tabris was very strong by demon standards, being a prince-rank vampire, and a upper-Beta/lower-Alpha class demon. Aristocratic ranking such as queen or prince were not due to noble birth as some would expect, rather they were ranks of power.

Tabris was also very skilled in a variety of areas as well, including various styles of shinkendo, kenjutsu, battojutsu, and iaijutsu. He had dedicated his life to the ways of honor, something he had picked up from Miyuki's family.

But that is a story for another time, trite but true.

But, in spite of all of his skills, he had no idea how to raise a baby, much less a girl (1). So was his current situation. He was sitting with his back against a tree, the tiefling girl sleeping on his lap.

'_Perhaps I should locate Xero, she has experience in this kind of thing…'_ He closed his eyes and tried to feel her presence. After several minutes he opened his eyes and sighed in disappointment, he had sensed that she was in a different realm. Tabris was not a Traveler, and could not travel between realms.

At that moment the baby opened her eyes, and started to giggle and play with his hair, which was unbound at the moment and hanging down his front. _'I need help.'_ He sighed sadly, although he faintly smiled at the vision of cuteness.

* * *

(The Netherworld)

The four were still running, however in the distance they could see a large white tower, resembling a hundred story tall gothic cathedral.

Xero suddenly stopped and a lock of hair at the top of her head stood straight up.

"Why have you stopped? 'Tis Mundus' tower not one hundred feet away." Sparda said, an edge to his voice. "It's Tabris… he needs me." She said in a completely serious tone. Her three companions just looked at her with confused expressions, and Enzeru said "from the way you have described him, why would someone like him need someone like…?" He cut off, moving his hand in a circular motion.

Her hair laid back down, and her eyes softened as she remembered a time shortly after their father died.

_**Flashback**_

_The twins were both ten years old, thus were still human. Both of them had rivulets running down their faces. They were standing in front of an open casket, containing the deceased body of thirty-seven year old Hamal._

_The girl was openly sobbing. The boy was crying silently._

_Standing behind them was Inala, looking as young as ever, she too was crying, though not as loudly as her daughter. In her left hand was an unlit torch._

_Inala walked foreword, Xero and Tabris politely moving to the side. With a deep breath, Inala lowered the torch, and set it on his chest similar to how a fallen warrior would hold their sword in death. She conjured a small flame and lit the torch, and closed the coffin lid as Xero turned to sob into her brothers shoulder, they embraced each other._

_Inala watched her children out of the corner of her eyes, then she turned her unblinking eyes to the burning pyre._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

From that day, Inala and her children have begun, slowly but surely, to drift apart. At their mother's time of death, they did not even love each other as much as family should.

It seemed that Hamal was the proverbial glue that held them together.

Inala was never really the maternal type, preferring to approach everything with a professional and controlled demeanor.

Tabris became something of a loner, never forgiving himself for allowing his loved ones to die, and working to gain the power protect those close to him, only for his sense of misery to deepen when his exceptional strength only served to push him away from anyone who might become close to him.

Lastly Xero would run away from her problems, always keeping herself occupied with annoying others, indulging in carnal desires, and generally having fun (she would occasionally coerce her sibling to accompany her on such endeavors).

But there was one occasion, fifty years ago, that kept them from separating completely.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_A young Tabris was walking toward the council chambers, after a particularly exhausting training session. He stopped, standing in front of him was the one being he ever truly feared._

_Inala's twin sister, Xera, his own sister's namesake. She looked exactly like Inala, but with silver hair._

_Xera grinned at him, her grin was unnaturally wide._

_What happened next was a blur to him, it happened too fast for his young mind to register._

_The next thing he knew, he was missing his arms, legs, and stomach. He looked in fear at his aunt, she gave another unnaturally wide, evil grin._

_She used her elongated nails to cut her palm, and held her hand out in front of her. The blood seeped out, and solidified/crystallized into a whip. She lashed out at him, again and again, as he screamed in pain._

_The noise seemed to draw the elders out into the hall. None of them did anything to prevent Tabris' torture, none of them were strong enough to stop Xera. A few of them even enjoyed the sight, but most of them looked disgusted. _

_Then Inala herself stepped into the hall._

_Tabris looked up with tears of agony in his eyes "Mommy!" he whimpered/cried out. Inala looked on angrily, and she blurred out of sight._

_As Xera brought her whip foreword to lash him again, Inala got in the way, the whip wrapping around her hand where she grabbed it. She cut her own hand, and her blood crystallized into an ornate scythe._

_Inala gave a mighty tug on the whip, and her sister flew foreword with a cry. Inala swung the scathe, and impaled her sister on the wall. Xera gritted her teeth to avoid screaming._

_Inala and Xera were sisters, but they were also each others anti-existence; their blood acted as a sort of poison to the other. If their blood was mixed, it would crystallize._

_Xera gave one last shudder as she became a statue. It was not a permanent state, so it was more a punishment than anything._

_There were plenty of vampires that hated Tabris, but none more so than Xera. She would have even killed Hamal had she been given the chance._

_Inala knelt down next to her son and offered him her wrist. He was to weak to bite down she noticed, so she raised her wrist and bit down herself, and lowered her hand to Tabris' mouth._

_The last thing he remembered was her healing blood dripping into his mouth, and the promise that he would live._

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Tabris' mistreatment at the hands of Xera went above and beyond what any other vampire dared to do to him. Kidnapping, impalement, torture, est. She even went so far as to violate him once. It was his first time.

The wounds of a Noble healed almost instantaneously, yet Tabris entire back was marred with a crisscross of lash marks, an everlasting testament to his torture under his aunt.

"You're right. Why would he ever need me…?" She said sadly, she never was able to help him when he needed someone most, as she made haste with her companions for the gleaming marble tower. Lucina laid a hand on her shoulder, and spared her a comforting glance.

* * *

(Faerun: unknown forest)

Tabris walked, his hair in a braid, between two trees which looked suspiciously like an arch. He stopped as he found a scimitar and a saber at his neck, and he heard the faint drawing of bows.

"What is thy business here, stranger?" The guard on his left asked in a kind but wary voice.

Tabris glanced at them, and his eyes widened at the exceptionally beautiful being(2).

The being was an eladrin, a high elf. He had an athletic body, long pointed ears, pale skin, long red hair, and blue eyes with gold speckles. He was wearing an almost oriental looking outfit, with tones of brown and blue-green. Tabris grimaced at the coiled whip at his side.

Tabris looked to the other guard, she was even more beautiful than the male eladrin. The woman had an equally athletic body as her male counterpart did, but was slightly thinner. She had similar features, leading him to believe that they may be siblings.

She was wearing a revealing green robe, and white and tan garments, and tall tan boots, topped with gold ornaments. She wore gold bracelets with green gemstones, along with green beads, and a green gemstone pendant.

He could sense that they were nearly as powerful as he was, as evidenced by the magnificent spellblades (the manifestation of a warrior mage's power, formed through deep meditation).

The fact that if he were forced to fight his way out, he would inevitably be captured or killed did not deter him. He spoke with a calm voice, "I recently came into possession of this child, but I have no knowledge or experience in childcare."

They looked at each other, and lowered their swords, bet remained ready to defend themselves at a moments notice. They looked down at the newborn, their eyes softened and the male turned away, and the female said "come."

The female eladrin guided him through the woods, which upon closer inspection, was actually a city! The male has long since disappeared, probably to spread word, and most likely warning, of his arrival. "What is thine name?" Tabris asked, she looked over her shoulder and said "Gala."

"Gala, if I may be so bold, may I ask where you are taking me?" he asked as they were walking through the beautiful forest like eladrin city.

"Thou may, in fact, be so bold. I am taking thee to Malana,-" Gala said in her whimsical, musical sounding voice, "-our chief salve maker. She shall teach you the skills necessary to raise thine ward.

"But after that, you must leave." She finished in a flat, but still quite musical voice. Tabris looked at her, eyes wide, she continued, "there is a ghaele who lives here as well. Alahad is quite a bit stronger than you, but away at the moment, and if given the chance will slay you. He prides himself on slaying the undead, you see."

He lowered his head, the power of a ghaele rivaled that of demon lord. He took her words to heart, and stayed silent. "You do as we say, and we do not tell Alahad of your existence." She said flatly, he looked up, "why spare me?"

They stopped, and Gala looked over her shoulder, "this 'Alahad', seems to be important to you. If so, why aid me in escaping his wrath?" He questioned solemnly, "the child." she responded, to the point, "you carry a child who, without thine interference, would have been needlessly killed. For that, we have decided to trust thee, do not betray it." She said serenely, but adopting a menacing tone at the last four words.

Tabris did not know how they knew the child's circumstances, but he was willing to trust them. Besides, as a demon, he could sense ill intent. He only sensed a careful wariness, nothing less than what he would expect from himself.

They started walking again, with him thinking on her words. They stopped at a particularly large tree, with a natural arch at the base, and a spiral pathway leading up into it. Gala moved to the side and bade him to go on his own.

He bowed, and made his way up the naturally formed walkway. As he went up, he marveled at the arch-shaped wood walkway. When he shifted his hold on the girl so as to free one hand, he raised it to feel the wood.

Underneath his hand, he felt a shifting deep in the structure of the tree, similar to a sort of heartbeat. He lowered his hand, and repositioned it under the baby. Just then he felt a call, so he walked the last few yards to an open area, with a balcony like opening, which served to let light in.

Standing with her back to him was an eladrin female in a long flowing robe. The robe itself was star colored and made of fur, and decorated with green runes, which looked like they were not meant to be there. The robe was a pelt, of what kind of animal he could not tell, it was just too perfect. It was like the animal shed its fur of its own accord and offered it to her as a gift. Given everything he has seen since the destruction of Atra Terris, that theory may not be too far fetched.

The runes looked to have been artificially painted there. When he looked around at the room, the entire place, walls and everything, were painted with similar runes!

This was putting Tabris on edge.

He turned back around to face the figure, to see that she was facing him.

His eyes widened, he was standing before a Noble Eladrin.

He would have been terrified at her aura, as it utterly dwarfed his own, if it did not radiate a sense of peace and serenity that he had never felt before, but also of a suppressed wild and competitive nature. He felt relaxed and slightly drowsy as the feeling caressed and lulled him.

He fought the feeling as he noticed the aura being drawn up and into the runes, suppressing its nature.

She walked closer and looked him in the eye, and he felt his unbeating heart flutter at the sight that met him. She was by far more beautiful than any other he had seen in this village, with hair the color of freshly fallen snow, so long the tips brushed the floor, blue skin (the exact shade a human's skin turns when they are freezing to death), and eyes that were solid orbs of violet with gold specks, and had the appearance of a caged animal. She had a round face, and a modest looking body which was partially visible under her robe (that she held closed with one hand, and was the only article of clothing she wore).

She was actually a very average looking woman, with an athletic figure, but was not well endowed in any place a woman would normally be. But she carried herself with such grace that made her a beauty unrivaled by any he has seen before.

"**I am thankful for your appreciation."** Malana spoke in a two-tone voice, similar to a voice synthesizer, but for more lovely and musical sounding.

He barely noticed as she took the child and placed her down in a cradle that magically formed out of the floor. With a wave of her hand, a sleep spell was put onto the child, with a visible effect of sparkles appearing in the air over her.

She smiled at him warmly in amusement, **"I know of why you have come."** She said in her dual-voice, and he smiled faintly and said "I figured as much." She grinned and walked toward him. His smile faltered slightly as she got too close, but she put her finger to his lips to stop him speaking.

"**Close your eyes."** She asked, and sensing no ulterior motive, he did so. He shuttered as he felt her soft hand on his cheek, and if he had possessed a beating heart, it would have stopped completely at what she did next.

She kissed him.

He was about to pull away and ask why, but he felt a sense of longing in her, so he embraced her to him. They kissed passionately, it was chaste and innocent, but it was enough.

His hands went to caress either side of her face, as her free hand came up to rest on his chest. Her skin was cold; cold enough that his deathly body temperature did not deter her in the slightest.

He felt his mind slowly being filled with the knowledge he sought, and he smiled wider against her lips.

When they separated, she leaned her head on his chest, he put his chin on her head, and they stood in a loving embrace for a moment.

The two separated, but their hands stayed in contact for a lingering moment. If one had witnessed them, they would say that the two resembled newlyweds, reluctant to part ways before one was forced war.

When their hands finally separated, she turned to face the window, and said **"I apologize."** He was honestly confused at the conflicting emotions he heard in her voice, happiness, sadness, and something else he could not quite place.

"**I could have simply gave you that knowledge through eye contact. But this way was much more favorable, for both of us."**

She smiled sadly, **"now go… Alahad will be back soon."**

"**I pray we meet again."** She said happily. He backed up a step and turned her around with his hand on her shoulder. He kissed her forehead, "we will."

He walked away with a bow, and exited the tree, feeling better than he had in years.

He exited the village, barely aware that Gala guided him back out of the place.

From the knowledge that Malana gave to him, it would seem that the first thing the baby needed a wet nurse.

However, upon arriving at a human settlement and reading the thoughts of its occupants, it seemed that this world did not have anything like that yet. So, he rented a room at an inn, and sat down against the headboard of the bed and concentrated.

Vampires were natural shape shifters, this was due to them possessing an unstable body structure.

The reason for this was their evolution from succubae demons.

Succubae were masters of all things sexual, so it would only make sense for them to occasionally change their form in order to please their partner (or victim). There were no male succubae, so they would often change their form to that of a man (in this form, they are mistakenly identified as a different species called incubae) in order to pursue females and/or reproduce with other succubae.

Tabris' naturally unstable body made it quite easy for him to change his form to that of a female. He had never actually changed his shape before (well, nothing beyond what vampire battle tactics called for), never having a reason to do so, but like all things, he decided to work at it until he had shape shifting perfected to an art.

With himself as a female in mind, he shifted, and surprisingly enough, he managed it on the first try. The now female Tabris removed her now uncomfortable cuirass, unclasped her cassock, unbuttoned her shirt, and put the babies mouth to her left breast, and willed the nutrient rich fluid to spill forth.

It felt strange, but she told herself that this would only go on for a year at the most. The male-turned-female dhampir leaned her head back against the headboard. In this form, it seemed she was developing maternal instincts for the girl cradled in her arms, and decided to name her Lilith, after the succubus queen; Tabris' maternal grandmother.

Tabris allowed the sensation of Lilith sucking on her chest to lull her to sleep. For the first time, the redhead had slept, not in a casket, but on a bed. It was unknown to her, but this had not been achieved by a dhampir in fourteen centuries.

While she slept, her body underwent a change. Her vulnerability to sunlight (3), virtually disappeared.

When she woke up that morning, her eyes widened and she tried to shield herself from the sun. She lowered her arm in awe as she found that the sunlight no longer bothered her, it stung her eyes a bit, but then again, she had just woken up.

The redhead looked down, and saw that Lilith was cradled in her lap. She smiled, and conjured a wooden cradle like she had seen Malana do, but in the general shape of a lidless casket, and placed the demonic baby in it.

Tabris, or Amaranth, as she decided to call her female form, stripped herself of clothing and looked upon herself in the full-length mirror.

Amaranth was more petite than curvy, she had noticed. She was just as tall as normal, and her breasts were a medium b-cup, and her buttock was small, not like she the ones she had seen on the more 'voluptuous' females back on Atra Terris.

She raised a hand to her chest, and felt the left bosom, they were soft.

Her muscles were far more dense and compact, yet smaller and looser, allowing for greater flexibility. Her waist was, like all of her, rather thin, her abdominal muscles less prominent, and her hips were slightly wider than her waist; birthing hips. It seemed that even though she was not truly female, she did possess a birth canal and a womb.

As Tabris, she had felt curious many times as to what the erogenous areas of women felt like firsthand. Said curiousness was no more than simply a fleeting desire for knowledge.

So, with the same sense of curiosity and wonder a prepubescent human girl might feel, she squeezed.

Amaranth panted, her entire body felt warm, which was rather strange, but familiar. For a vampire, warmth usually meant pain, but she was feeling a pleasant kind of warmth.

The results of her little 'experiment' was not dissimilar to his sexual experiences in male form, but more intense. At the moment of climax, there was intense muscle tightening around her hip area, and muscle spasms throughout the rest of her body.

She was thankful that there were only weaklings for miles around, and that she had thought to magically seal the room, as she could not move.

'_This is definitely not going to be a regular thing. It felt great beyond my highest expectations, but if the cost is that I cannot make a move in my own defense, it is just not worth it.'_

She laid there, immobile, for a moment, and then she crawled back under the covers and went to sleep _'I do not know how Xero can keep doing this all the time.'_ Was her last thought before darkness took her.

She was woken from her sleep when she heard Lilith crying, she sighed and went over to the coffin shaped cradle.

* * *

(1) This is a flaw in Tabris, not in myself. In high school I attended Child Development and Prep for Parenting classes, unlike most of the boys in my grade level who were scared to death of the responsibility required.

(2) Gala and her brother are the Elven Siblings by Cyzra of deviant art.

(3) Despite popular belief, sunlight does not harm vampires, but they are much weakened. I did not make this up for my story, look it up.


	6. Lilith

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 6**

**Lilith**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

(Toril: Unknown Forest)

The vampire/human hybrid known as Tabris was very strong by demon standards, being a prince-rank vampire, and a upper-Beta/lower-Alpha class demon. Aristocratic ranking such as queen or prince were not due to noble birth as some would expect, rather they were ranks of power.

Tabris was also very skilled in a variety of areas as well, including various styles of shinkendo, kenjutsu, battojutsu, and iaijutsu. He had dedicated his life to the ways of honor, something he had picked up from Miyuki's family.

But that is a story for another time, trite but true.

But, in spite of all of his skills, he had no idea how to raise a baby, much less a girl (1). So was his current situation. He was sitting with his back against a tree, the tiefling girl sleeping on his lap.

'_Perhaps I should locate Xero, she has experience in this kind of thing…'_ He closed his eyes and tried to feel her presence. After several minutes he opened his eyes and sighed in disappointment, he had sensed that she was in a different realm. Tabris was not a Traveler, and could not travel between realms.

At that moment the baby opened her eyes, and started to giggle and play with his hair, which was unbound at the moment and hanging down his front. _'I need help.'_ He sighed sadly, although he faintly smiled at the vision of cuteness.

* * *

(The Netherworld)

The four were still running, however in the distance they could see a large white tower, resembling a hundred story tall gothic cathedral.

Xero suddenly stopped and a lock of hair at the top of her head stood straight up.

"Why have you stopped? 'Tis Mundus' tower not one hundred feet away." Sparda said, an edge to his voice. "It's Tabris… he needs me." She said in a completely serious tone. Her three companions just looked at her with confused expressions, and Enzeru said "from the way you have described him, why would someone like him need someone like…?" He cut off, moving his hand in a circular motion.

Her hair laid back down, and her eyes softened as she remembered a time shortly after their father died.

_**Flashback**_

_The twins were both ten years old, thus were still human. Both of them had rivulets running down their faces. They were standing in front of an open casket, containing the deceased body of thirty-seven year old Hamal._

_The girl was openly sobbing. The boy was crying silently._

_Standing behind them was Inala, looking as young as ever, she too was crying, though not as loudly as her daughter. In her left hand was an unlit torch._

_Inala walked foreword, Xero and Tabris politely moving to the side. With a deep breath, Inala lowered the torch, and set it on his chest similar to how a fallen warrior would hold their sword in death. She conjured a small flame and lit the torch, and closed the coffin lid as Xero turned to sob into her brothers shoulder, they embraced each other._

_Inala watched her children out of the corner of her eyes, then she turned her unblinking eyes to the burning pyre._

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

From that day, Inala and her children have begun, slowly but surely, to drift apart. At their mother's time of death, they did not even love each other as much as family should.

It seemed that Hamal was the proverbial glue that held them together.

Inala was never really the maternal type, preferring to approach everything with a professional and controlled demeanor.

Tabris became something of a loner, never forgiving himself for allowing his loved ones to die, and working to gain the power protect those close to him, only for his sense of misery to deepen when his exceptional strength only served to push him away from anyone who might become close to him.

Lastly Xero would run away from her problems, always keeping herself occupied with annoying others, indulging in carnal desires, and generally having fun (she would occasionally coerce her sibling to accompany her on such endeavors).

But there was one occasion, fifty years ago, that kept them from separating completely.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_A young Tabris was walking toward the council chambers, after a particularly exhausting training session. He stopped, standing in front of him was the one being he ever truly feared._

_Inala's twin sister, Xera, his own sister's namesake. She looked exactly like Inala, but with silver hair._

_Xera grinned at him, her grin was unnaturally wide._

_What happened next was a blur to him, it happened too fast for his young mind to register._

_The next thing he knew, he was missing his arms, legs, and stomach. He looked in fear at his aunt, she gave another unnaturally wide, evil grin._

_She used her elongated nails to cut her palm, and held her hand out in front of her. The blood seeped out, and solidified/crystallized into a whip. She lashed out at him, again and again, as he screamed in pain._

_The noise seemed to draw the elders out into the hall. None of them did anything to prevent Tabris' torture, none of them were strong enough to stop Xera. A few of them even enjoyed the sight, but most of them looked disgusted. _

_Then Inala herself stepped into the hall._

_Tabris looked up with tears of agony in his eyes "Mommy!" he whimpered/cried out. Inala looked on angrily, and she blurred out of sight._

_As Xera brought her whip foreword to lash him again, Inala got in the way, the whip wrapping around her hand where she grabbed it. She cut her own hand, and her blood crystallized into an ornate scythe._

_Inala gave a mighty tug on the whip, and her sister flew foreword with a cry. Inala swung the scathe, and impaled her sister on the wall. Xera gritted her teeth to avoid screaming._

_Inala and Xera were sisters, but they were also each others anti-existence; their blood acted as a sort of poison to the other. If their blood was mixed, it would crystallize._

_Xera gave one last shudder as she became a statue. It was not a permanent state, so it was more a punishment than anything._

_There were plenty of vampires that hated Tabris, but none more so than Xera. She would have even killed Hamal had she been given the chance._

_Inala knelt down next to her son and offered him her wrist. He was to weak to bite down she noticed, so she raised her wrist and bit down herself, and lowered her hand to Tabris' mouth._

_The last thing he remembered was her healing blood dripping into his mouth, and the promise that he would live._

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Tabris' mistreatment at the hands of Xera went above and beyond what any other vampire dared to do to him. Kidnapping, impalement, torture, est. She even went so far as to violate him once. It was his first time.

The wounds of a Noble healed almost instantaneously, yet Tabris entire back was marred with a crisscross of lash marks, an everlasting testament to his torture under his aunt.

"You're right. Why would he ever need me…?" She said sadly, she never was able to help him when he needed someone most, as she made haste with her companions for the gleaming marble tower. Lucina laid a hand on her shoulder, and spared her a comforting glance.

* * *

(Faerun: unknown forest)

Tabris walked, his hair in a braid, between two trees which looked suspiciously like an arch. He stopped as he found a scimitar and a saber at his neck, and he heard the faint drawing of bows.

"What is thy business here, stranger?" The guard on his left asked in a kind but wary voice.

Tabris glanced at them, and his eyes widened at the exceptionally beautiful being(2).

The being was an eladrin, a high elf. He had an athletic body, long pointed ears, pale skin, long red hair, and blue eyes with gold speckles. He was wearing an almost oriental looking outfit, with tones of brown and blue-green. Tabris grimaced at the coiled whip at his side.

Tabris looked to the other guard, she was even more beautiful than the male eladrin. The woman had an equally athletic body as her male counterpart did, but was slightly thinner. She had similar features, leading him to believe that they may be siblings.

She was wearing a revealing green robe, and white and tan garments, and tall tan boots, topped with gold ornaments. She wore gold bracelets with green gemstones, along with green beads, and a green gemstone pendant.

He could sense that they were nearly as powerful as he was, as evidenced by the magnificent spellblades (the manifestation of a warrior mage's power, formed through deep meditation).

The fact that if he were forced to fight his way out, he would inevitably be captured or killed did not deter him. He spoke with a calm voice, "I recently came into possession of this child, but I have no knowledge or experience in childcare."

They looked at each other, and lowered their swords, bet remained ready to defend themselves at a moments notice. They looked down at the newborn, their eyes softened and the male turned away, and the female said "come."

The female eladrin guided him through the woods, which upon closer inspection, was actually a city! The male has long since disappeared, probably to spread word, and most likely warning, of his arrival. "What is thine name?" Tabris asked, she looked over her shoulder and said "Gala."

"Gala, if I may be so bold, may I ask where you are taking me?" he asked as they were walking through the beautiful forest like eladrin city.

"Thou may, in fact, be so bold. I am taking thee to Malana,-" Gala said in her whimsical, musical sounding voice, "-our chief salve maker. She shall teach you the skills necessary to raise thine ward.

"But after that, you must leave." She finished in a flat, but still quite musical voice. Tabris looked at her, eyes wide, she continued, "there is a ghaele who lives here as well. Alahad is quite a bit stronger than you, but away at the moment, and if given the chance will slay you. He prides himself on slaying the undead, you see."

He lowered his head, the power of a ghaele rivaled that of demon lord. He took her words to heart, and stayed silent. "You do as we say, and we do not tell Alahad of your existence." She said flatly, he looked up, "why spare me?"

They stopped, and Gala looked over her shoulder, "this 'Alahad', seems to be important to you. If so, why aid me in escaping his wrath?" He questioned solemnly, "the child." she responded, to the point, "you carry a child who, without thine interference, would have been needlessly killed. For that, we have decided to trust thee, do not betray it." She said serenely, but adopting a menacing tone at the last four words.

Tabris did not know how they knew the child's circumstances, but he was willing to trust them. Besides, as a demon, he could sense ill intent. He only sensed a careful wariness, nothing less than what he would expect from himself.

They started walking again, with him thinking on her words. They stopped at a particularly large tree, with a natural arch at the base, and a spiral pathway leading up into it. Gala moved to the side and bade him to go on his own.

He bowed, and made his way up the naturally formed walkway. As he went up, he marveled at the arch-shaped wood walkway. When he shifted his hold on the girl so as to free one hand, he raised it to feel the wood.

Underneath his hand, he felt a shifting deep in the structure of the tree, similar to a sort of heartbeat. He lowered his hand, and repositioned it under the baby. Just then he felt a call, so he walked the last few yards to an open area, with a balcony like opening, which served to let light in.

Standing with her back to him was an eladrin female in a long flowing robe. The robe itself was star colored and made of fur, and decorated with green runes, which looked like they were not meant to be there. The robe was a pelt, of what kind of animal he could not tell, it was just too perfect. It was like the animal shed its fur of its own accord and offered it to her as a gift. Given everything he has seen since the destruction of Atra Terris, that theory may not be too far fetched.

The runes looked to have been artificially painted there. When he looked around at the room, the entire place, walls and everything, were painted with similar runes!

This was putting Tabris on edge.

He turned back around to face the figure, to see that she was facing him.

His eyes widened, he was standing before a Noble Eladrin.

He would have been terrified at her aura, as it utterly dwarfed his own, if it did not radiate a sense of peace and serenity that he had never felt before, but also of a suppressed wild and competitive nature. He felt relaxed and slightly drowsy as the feeling caressed and lulled him.

He fought the feeling as he noticed the aura being drawn up and into the runes, suppressing its nature.

She walked closer and looked him in the eye, and he felt his unbeating heart flutter at the sight that met him. She was by far more beautiful than any other he had seen in this village, with hair the color of freshly fallen snow, so long the tips brushed the floor, blue skin (the exact shade a human's skin turns when they are freezing to death), and eyes that were solid orbs of violet with gold specks, and had the appearance of a caged animal. She had a round face, and a modest looking body which was partially visible under her robe (that she held closed with one hand, and was the only article of clothing she wore).

She was actually a very average looking woman, with an athletic figure, but was not well endowed in any place a woman would normally be. But she carried herself with such grace that made her a beauty unrivaled by any he has seen before.

"**I am thankful for your appreciation."** Malana spoke in a two-tone voice, similar to a voice synthesizer, but for more lovely and musical sounding.

He barely noticed as she took the child and placed her down in a cradle that magically formed out of the floor. With a wave of her hand, a sleep spell was put onto the child, with a visible effect of sparkles appearing in the air over her.

She smiled at him warmly in amusement, **"I know of why you have come."** She said in her dual-voice, and he smiled faintly and said "I figured as much." She grinned and walked toward him. His smile faltered slightly as she got too close, but she put her finger to his lips to stop him speaking.

"**Close your eyes."** She asked, and sensing no ulterior motive, he did so. He shuttered as he felt her soft hand on his cheek, and if he had possessed a beating heart, it would have stopped completely at what she did next.

She kissed him.

He was about to pull away and ask why, but he felt a sense of longing in her, so he embraced her to him. They kissed passionately, it was chaste and innocent, but it was enough.

His hands went to caress either side of her face, as her free hand came up to rest on his chest. Her skin was cold; cold enough that his deathly body temperature did not deter her in the slightest.

He felt his mind slowly being filled with the knowledge he sought, and he smiled wider against her lips.

When they separated, she leaned her head on his chest, he put his chin on her head, and they stood in a loving embrace for a moment.

The two separated, but their hands stayed in contact for a lingering moment. If one had witnessed them, they would say that the two resembled newlyweds, reluctant to part ways before one was forced war.

When their hands finally separated, she turned to face the window, and said **"I apologize."** He was honestly confused at the conflicting emotions he heard in her voice, happiness, sadness, and something else he could not quite place.

"**I could have simply gave you that knowledge through eye contact. But this way was much more favorable, for both of us."**

She smiled sadly, **"now go… Alahad will be back soon."**

"**I pray we meet again."** She said happily. He backed up a step and turned her around with his hand on her shoulder. He kissed her forehead, "we will."

He walked away with a bow, and exited the tree, feeling better than he had in years.

He exited the village, barely aware that Gala guided him back out of the place.

From the knowledge that Malana gave to him, it would seem that the first thing the baby needed a wet nurse.

However, upon arriving at a human settlement and reading the thoughts of its occupants, it seemed that this world did not have anything like that yet. So, he rented a room at an inn, and sat down against the headboard of the bed and concentrated.

Vampires were natural shape shifters, this was due to them possessing an unstable body structure.

The reason for this was their evolution from succubae demons.

Succubae were masters of all things sexual, so it would only make sense for them to occasionally change their form in order to please their partner (or victim). There were no male succubae, so they would often change their form to that of a man (in this form, they are mistakenly identified as a different species called incubae) in order to pursue females and/or reproduce with other succubae.

Tabris' naturally unstable body made it quite easy for him to change his form to that of a female. He had never actually changed his shape before (well, nothing beyond what vampire battle tactics called for), never having a reason to do so, but like all things, he decided to work at it until he had shape shifting perfected to an art.

With himself as a female in mind, he shifted, and surprisingly enough, he managed it on the first try. The now female Tabris removed her now uncomfortable cuirass, unclasped her cassock, unbuttoned her shirt, and put the babies mouth to her left breast, and willed the nutrient rich fluid to spill forth.

It felt strange, but she told herself that this would only go on for a year at the most. The male-turned-female dhampir leaned her head back against the headboard. In this form, it seemed she was developing maternal instincts for the girl cradled in her arms, and decided to name her Lilith, after the succubus queen; Tabris' maternal grandmother.

Tabris allowed the sensation of Lilith sucking on her chest to lull her to sleep. For the first time, the redhead had slept, not in a casket, but on a bed. It was unknown to her, but this had not been achieved by a dhampir in fourteen centuries.

While she slept, her body underwent a change. Her vulnerability to sunlight (3), virtually disappeared.

When she woke up that morning, her eyes widened and she tried to shield herself from the sun. She lowered her arm in awe as she found that the sunlight no longer bothered her, it stung her eyes a bit, but then again, she had just woken up.

The redhead looked down, and saw that Lilith was cradled in her lap. She smiled, and conjured a wooden cradle like she had seen Malana do, but in the general shape of a lidless casket, and placed the demonic baby in it.

Tabris, or Amaranth, as she decided to call her female form, stripped herself of clothing and looked upon herself in the full-length mirror.

Amaranth was more petite than curvy, she had noticed. She was just as tall as normal, and her breasts were a medium b-cup, and her buttock was small, not like she the ones she had seen on the more 'voluptuous' females back on Atra Terris.

She raised a hand to her chest, and felt the left bosom, they were soft.

Her muscles were far more dense and compact, yet smaller and looser, allowing for greater flexibility. Her waist was, like all of her, rather thin, her abdominal muscles less prominent, and her hips were slightly wider than her waist; birthing hips. It seemed that even though she was not truly female, she did possess a birth canal and a womb.

As Tabris, she had felt curious many times as to what the erogenous areas of women felt like firsthand. Said curiousness was no more than simply a fleeting desire for knowledge.

So, with the same sense of curiosity and wonder a prepubescent human girl might feel, she squeezed.

Amaranth panted, her entire body felt warm, which was rather strange, but familiar. For a vampire, warmth usually meant pain, but she was feeling a pleasant kind of warmth.

The results of her little 'experiment' was not dissimilar to his sexual experiences in male form, but more intense. At the moment of climax, there was intense muscle tightening around her hip area, and muscle spasms throughout the rest of her body.

She was thankful that there were only weaklings for miles around, and that she had thought to magically seal the room, as she could not move.

'_This is definitely not going to be a regular thing. It felt great beyond my highest expectations, but if the cost is that I cannot make a move in my own defense, it is just not worth it.'_

She laid there, immobile, for a moment, and then she crawled back under the covers and went to sleep _'I do not know how Xero can keep doing this all the time.'_ Was her last thought before darkness took her.

She was woken from her sleep when she heard Lilith crying, she sighed and went over to the coffin shaped cradle.

* * *

(1) This is a flaw in Tabris, not in myself. In high school I attended Child Development and Prep for Parenting classes, unlike most of the boys in my grade level who were scared to death of the responsibility required.

(2) Gala and her brother are the Elven Siblings by Cyzra of deviant art.

(3) Despite popular belief, sunlight does not harm vampires, but they are much weakened. I did not make this up for my story, look it up.


	7. Battle of the Ages

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 7**

**Battle of the Ages**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**_**'Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

(Atra Terris - July 15, 1888)

Tabris sat at the council meeting. He sat to the immediate right of an ancient vampire by the name of Orrik, who sat at the immediate right of Queen Inala. Orrik was the Commander of the vampires armed forces, and Tabris the second in command.

Orrik had messy black hair and yellow eyes, and he wore brown trousers, silver greaves, silver vambraces, and a tattered scarlet cape strapped to his upper body. Behind his chair were a sword, a large targe shield, and a spear.

Despite the fact that that Tabris was Orrick's second in command, he was far from being loyal to him. Everyone hated Orrik, he was a barbarian through and through. The only reason he was in the commander seat was because of his strength and experience in cover ups.

He was a Spartan, whose life as a human ended with the famous battle of Thermopylae. The worst thing about him was that he still bore the ancient Spartan mindset.

It is very much true that immortal creatures do not change over time, they only become more what they truly are.

Directly across from Tabris was his sister Xero, looking bored out of her skull. At her left was Oni-Kage, a former ninja warlord. His unrivalled skill in ninjitsu was not what made him famous, but his charisma and knowledge in manipulation, both of which made him perfect for the position of the Queen's chief advisor.

"Now that the matter of the Emperor has been closed…" were the words that left the Queen's lips as a Japanese man bowed and left the room, "let us move on to other matters. It would seem our beloved first lieutenant has grown enough to replace our not-so-beloved commander."

Tabris' eyes shot open and looked at his mother, but not in alarm as one might expect. Orrik stood and unsheathed his blade with a roar, and he then slammed it down upon the table.

"Let it be a challenge then!" He roared, but then he pointed his sword at Inala herself, "but if you are wrong 'my queen' then you must submit yourself to me!"

Orrik could have been killed on the spot for speaking to Inala in such a manner, looking at her the way he did. His chauvinism was only tolerated in the past because of his station. However, she merely rolled her eyes and said "Alright, now shut up and begin!"

Let it not be said that the queen did not have an 'uncouth' side. Tabris looked at his mother worriedly, but she merely smirked at him and winked.

Tabris stood from his chair and grabbed his sword from his side. The other elders did the same, and as one they left the council chamber to the arena. It much resembled the Roman arena as it was in its glory days, but significantly smaller and indoors, the one room took up 1/4 of the castle itself.

The arena was where organized duels between two or more people, with set rules and regulations, took place. The duels held here were contests of skill, and doubled as a training center.

Tabris and Orrik stood across from each other in combat stances in the arena, and the other elders were seated in the upper balconies. Tabris stood in the stance he developed after his decades of martial arts experience, and Orrick's stance could barely be called that, it was more the predatory crouch of a hunter.

Orrick rushed him, and Tabris readied himself for the fight of his life. Orrick swung, and swung, and swung again. Each time he was blocked, almost effortlessly, on Tabris' part.

He thought to himself that Orrick was merely warming up. It was his policy in a fight to overestimate his opponent, never underestimate.

Tabris' style relied much on speed and grace, while Orrick's was slow but powerful, with the occasional burst of speed.

Orrick swung his sword with enormous strength and skill, time and time again. Each time Tabris blocked, each time confused at the effortlessness required.

Orrick growled and smashed his shield against the wall, causing Tabris to stare, dumbfounded. The shield crumbled to pieces, but down the middle was a clean break, revealing another sword identical to Orrick's first one.

He grabbed it before it hit the ground, and rushed Tabris. He was faster than before but just as powerful. Tabris was still faster though, but he had to switch his sword from his left to his right hand to keep up with the two swords.

After awhile, Orrick grew fed up, and unleashed his true form. His true form was not very different from before, black bone like armor replaced his trousers, and silver bone armor replaced his greaves and vambraces, and black bone covered his arms entirely. His skin turned blue, and his cape had turned into black wings with red membrane. His hair grew to shoulder length.

Tabris' eyes widened, then narrow again as he focused. He was surprised that even though Orrick unleashed his full power, he did not feel weighed down any. He did not drop his guard though, true form was supposed to be the peak of vampiric power, after all.

Orrick rushed him again, with astonishing speed. He swung once with a cross slash, and Tabris blocked, but was knocked into the wall. Orrick straightened up once more, then burst out laughing. **"Well there you go Queenie! The one you claimed able to defeat me has been vanquished, and now I am your king!"** He roared, Xero was looking worried, but Inala was calm as if nothing had happened.

"Control art restriction level One: **Release!" **Orrick turned around, and his eyes widened as he grunted. He suddenly felt as if he were trying to hold up an ocean. Behind him was Tabris, his clothes in tatters from the collision with the wall, sword in hand and glaring at him with blood colored eyes.

Orrick's eyes narrowed as he leveled his sword and charged at him. Tabris crouched into a Tenga Ryu stance and charged up. _**'I have not mastered this attack yet, but…' **_

A sphere of crimson energy, sparking with black electricity that resembled the structure of an atom, formed at the tip of Yami no Ryu. **"Dragon-"** Tabris yelled slowly as Orrick continued to charge forward, **"-Fang!"** All noise reached a crescendo in that moment as a beam of energy exploded from Yami no Ryu and hit the barbarian point blank. The beam continued onward, but the powerful magicks within the walls of the manor prevented it from breaking through.

When it was all over, Orrick was unconscious on the ground, once more in his sealed form and his energy spent. Tabris stood above him, he closed his eyes and mentally summoned his sword's sheath. He sheathed his sword as Inala stood and announced in her usual business tone "the challenge is over! The new master of our armies is Tabris!"

Everyone stood and left the room. No one cheered or congratulated him, save for Xero of course. She jumped up and whooped, then she jumped down and hugged him tightly, ignoring his unclothed state. He returned the hug and held in a slight feeling of disappointment.

Disappointment that the battle with Orrick was not what he had expected it to be, and that no one acknowledged him even still.

* * *

(3 Months Later - Forest of Silence)

Tabris was walking through the forests of the east, his destination was the border of three states; Romania, Moldavia, and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountain range: the castle of the current Dark Lord; one Count Dracula.

A very old and powerful vampire, he could be considered a different breed of vampire entirely; as he did not become a vampire by traditional methods.

Count Dracula was to be his new teacher. Inala had contacted him, and had personally requested him to instruct her son in 'proper' vampire battle tactics.

Tabris was told a little about him, how he fights with ferocity and often cruelty, he was a master alchemist, and a genius tactician. He does still seem to have some small shred of humanity left in him, as he shows sympathy toward ghouls, as they didn't choose to become what they are, therefore showing sympathy for those lost human lives by killing them painlessly.

As he is immortal and invincible, Dracula is very egotistical. He freely taunts and belittles his opponents, often allowing them to inflict seemingly fatal wounds before healing himself and obliterating his enemy. However, even as an invincible vampire, Dracula can and has been defeated ad killed in battle by a handful of individuals, but because he was the master of Death, he was revived a century after his defeats.

Another important aspect of Dracula is his relationship with God. As a human, he was a crusader; a knight who fought against the Muslim Turks to spread Christianity. As a warrior, he believed that words alone were not enough; that one must accomplish deeds in order to attract God's attention. In accordance with this belief, he never asked God for favors, but instead did many great and terrible things.

While away on a campaign against heathens in the east, Elisabetha died due to illness. Upon returning and learning of her death, Mathias was overtaken with despair so profound that he became bedridden.

During that time, Mathias grew angry at God for allowing Elisabetha to die such an early death while he was away risking his life and fighting in God's name. He thought it was unjust and unfair for God to take away what mattered most to him, when he had given God so much, and when Elisabetha was such a pure and blameless woman who did not deserve to die.

Feeling abandoned by God, he abandoned God in turn. Dracula began searching for ways to become immortal and show God that She/He didn't have a final say in everything, and that he could defy God's decrees by existing outside them, and scorning God in his eternal life.

As Tabris was dwelling on what he has been told about his soon-to-be mentor, the self-exiled Orrick saw this as a good opportunity to claim his revenge.

His danger sense alerting him to an oncoming strike, he narrowly dodged a Spartan sword by jumping to a low hanging branch. There was no exchange of words, as they had a brief swordfight, which at first was dominated by Tabris. But then Orrick pulled a dirty move and gained the upper hand briefly, which he used by slamming Tabris into a nearby boulder.

The barbarian laughed maniacally, and unleashed true form once again, but this time it was different from before, this new form was far stronger, but was corrupted by anger and hatred.

It was a 16 foot tall humanoid bat. His entire body was now covered with grey bone armor. His grey wings now spread from his arms, with the bones of his wings being extensions from his fingers and elbows. He also grew a lower set of arms to compensate for the loss of the first pair. His ears were smashed into the sides of his head. His nose was now large and spade shaped, and crushed into his face.

The monster that was once Orrick roared and attacked Tabris, all the while fussing about why the council gave him the commanders seat.

"**Why!? Why did you have to become No. 1 and take everything away from me!?"** Orrick shouted in a maddened voice as he proceeded to attack Tabris.

"Simple. Because I am just that much stronger than you. True you lost your rank, but nothing was taken from you, you denied and pushed away everything that was important to you." Tabris replied calmly.

Tabris hated Orrick, but that did not mean he didn't pity him.

Orrick was only further angered by his words, and attacked him repeatedly in anger. He stopped suddenly, as he felt a combination of excruciating pain, and unfathomable fear.

He looked to the source of the pain, and saw that his left arm was missing. He looked to the source of the fear and saw that Tabris had released his tenth restriction; a mere fraction of his power.

It was easy to tell when a vampire opened inner gates and how many.

10: The eyes gain an unholy glow

9: The pupils turn to slits

8: The sclera turns black

7: The fingernails sharpen

6: The fingernails lengthen

5: The skin gains a blue tint

4: The aura crystallizes into an exoskeleton resembling bone-like armor

3: The aura crystallizes into an exoskeleton resembling a bone-like bodysuit

2: The skin of the face begins to crack in patterns resembling tear tracks

1: Wings sprout from the back

0: The vampires full powers are unleashed upon the world; also known as true form.

The control art restrictions, or simply gates, serve several purposes. First and foremost; control. A fledgling vamp must seal their power, lest it destroy their newborn bodies. The 10 gates are not so simple as each sealing up an equal portion.

Gate 10 seals up a small portion, gate 9 seals up twice as much as gate 10, and gate 8 seals up three times as much as gate 9, and so on.

Orrick slowed events down in his mind, and discovered that in the instant Tabris had unsealed his first gate, he managed to twist off his arm at a speed that he couldn't begin to comprehend.

"**Last time we fought, I had overestimated you, I had assumed that you were much stronger than me. I panicked, and thus I could not access my full power. But not this time."**

He vanished in a blur of sound, and reappeared behind the monstrous Orrick, slowly sheathing his sword. Orrick's eyes widened as he realized that Tabris had used his own attack.

He looked back at Tabris and said **"You're a monster!"** Tabris halted just before clicking his sword closed and said **"That makes two of us then."** He clicked it closed, and Orrick fell to pieces.

He sealed away his power once more, and his eyes returned to normal. He reached into his cassock, and removed a bottle of holy water. He uncorked it and threw it onto the remains. All of what was once Orrick burst into a holy blue flame that would burn nothing but demonic flesh.

Tabris at last went and picked up Orrick's swords. They wouldn't be the first, nor the last to grace his bedroom wall.

He heard slow clapping, and when he turned to look over his shoulder, he saw his query. His soon-to-be mentor, Vlad Dracula.

Vlad's mouth widened into a Cheshire grin, and he said "oh yes, I can tell that this is going to be an interesting half a decade".


	8. Return to Sanctum

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 8**

**Return To Sanctum**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

Slowly, a pair of familiar red eyes opened up, looking all around, he found himself descending through a black void. "Again… huh." He mumbled to himself before closing his eyes and giving a smirk.

"Everyone fears… and misunderstands the Darkness. It is not inherently evil, it is just trying to find it's place in the worlds… Those living seeped in Darkness struggle to survive, making them strong…" Tabris mumbles, eyes distant as though something else is speaking through him.

"Everyone misunderstands the Light as well… It is not inherently good, but people still think of it as such anyway. Those living bathed in the Light are peaceful, naïve. So easily manipulated… just like Xero."

Falling through Darkness, the crimson haired man soon feels himself came into contact with something, only t break through, and come into contact with the floor another 20' down. Looking up, he sees a single ray of light and blinks, and then smirks slightly.

"There is always a little Light, even in the deepest Darkness."

He notes while slowly closed his eyes and laid back, enjoying the brief reprieve from conflict… enjoying the silence, and enjoying the freedom from all the chaos his life had so quickly become.

He enjoyed chaos and combat… hell, it was his element. But that did not mean he could not enjoy a brief moment of rest.

**"Ah, so you return at last…"**

An amused voice notes, one that causes Tabris' eyes to snap open as he then sat up and looked around, finding himself inside one of those pillars from the Sanctum of Awakening.

Looking up, he saw that the ray of light was coming from the broken glass, which was repairing itself.

**"I'm sorry to say that your tests are not yet complete…"**

The crisp voice comments and Tabris slowly stands up, looking down he sighed noting that he was wearing his Warrior Armor.

"I must admit, I would be rather disappointed if they were." Tabris comments while crossing his arms and the voice emits a light chuckle, as if amused by the question from the redhead.

**"Indeed my dear. A person cannot be wholly judged on the simple basis of Light or Dark."**

The voice says and Tabris rolls his eyes. Looking down he then frowns, wondering what is the meaning of the stained glass he was standing on this time.

Below him is a scene depicting an unclad, glossy-skinned drow woman of great height with ankle-length, sweeping hair of glowing silver. In her hand, was a long bastard sword. Behind the woman was the full moon. In circles around the woman were various drow females, and one drow male. There was a jagged circle, and in it was a drow woman with spider-like eyes.

"**I believe you know the basics of Combat. But lets see if you remember what I taught you about movement…"**

The voice suddenly muses and Tabris eye twitches before looking around. Crouching, he jumps ten feet into the air, he then extended his faux wings and grinned when he floated off the ground as he had done before.

Flying around, Tabris does a few tricks, and then comes to a stop in the center of the light, the voice returning once more.

**"Good. It's nice to know that you actually listened to me."**

The voice muses and Tabris frowns while crossing his arms and dropping to the floor "I'm not one to disregard advice." He said in a deadpan voice.

"**Indeed.**

"**Now, before you begin your journey, let me find out a little more about you…"**

The voice then said and Tabris closes his eyes as a bright light suddenly consumed him, making him grit his teeth before then opening his eyes, gaping as he finds himself in a traditional room.

The room seemed to be part of an ancient Egyptian castle. On one of the walls was a khomesh, an Egyptian curved sword. But unlike most khomesh, where the blade was straight for a few inches, then turned sharply into a semicircle curve, this one was straight for a few inches, then turned sharply into a curve that resembled one half of a heart.

The sword was 36" long overall, not counting the curve. The blade was 29" long, and 1" wide, and 0.3" thick, with a 8" deep curvature 7" from the guard, and was made of scarletite, with patterns not dissimilar to Damascus steel. A bladed ankh extended out of the top of the curve, parallel to the tip. The guard was scarletite as well, and was shaped like two gold bars that extended only halfway down the 7" hilt. The hilt was a plain wooden handle, wrapped in black cord. Connected to the pommel by a hook-like protrusion, was a 6" long strand of black cord, and at the end was a gold ankh. (Twilight Keyblade: Pride of Osiris)

He took it up and sheathed into an alchemically created scabbard on his left hip.

However, it was the three people in the room that surprised Tabris since he had never seen them before in his life.

The first was the drow male whose face was carved in the circle from before. He was of average height for a drow, with long, thick, and wavy white hair and rare lavender eyes. He stood at about 5′4″, and looked to weigh about 130 pounds. His beautiful features were sharp and well proportioned. He wore a well-worn, tattered, forest-green cloak, black leather body armor, soft black leather boots and black leather gloves, and a necklace with a white unicorn head pendant carved from bone. Last were two scimitars strapped to his thighs. His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned back into a wall, his eyes closed. (1)

Nearby was a young brunette girl with amber eyes. She had her arms at her sides, and she smirked with childlike wistfulness. All she wore was a white dress, and she was barefoot. (2)

Last, to the opposite of the man was a draenei girl with purple hair, light blue-grey skin, and wide, glowing blue eyes. She wore a set of revealing blue robes that were lined with gold. She wore gold rings on her cranial tendrils and her tail. She also wore brown leggings, which looked strange on her due to her trichotomic legs. She wore gold shoulder armor, wrist guards, and shin guards. Lastly, she carried a gold staff, topped with a strange blue sigil. (3)

**"These three shall let me learn more about you, go on now, 'tis only a few questions."**

The voice says with an encouraging tone, making Tabris frown as he walks over to the draenei.

"Hi!" The girl offered with a wide, friendly grin while opening her bright eyes and raising a hand, Tabris looking at him her a confused expression. "What is it that's most important to you?" The girl then asks while looking at Tabris, the redhead frowning in thought for a few moments before answering.

"Strength enough to protect those important to me." He says and the looks at him strangely for a moment, before closing her eyes. Tabris walked over to the young girl as she watches him before smiling and tilting her head.

"What do you fear most?" She asks and Tabris frowns in thought once more.

"Being helpless…" He whispers softly and the girl folds her arms before leaning forward at the waist.

"Is that really so bad?" She asks and Tabris ignores the question and makes his way over to the drow.

"What do you want from life?" He asked and Tabris frowns once more, thinking deeply about what his answer should be…

"I wish to dual strong opponents." Tabris says and the man nods his head slowly, the room suddenly darkening.

**"Strength to protect that which matters most to you. You fear helplessness. You wish to fight and learn…"**

The voice from before says in a thoughtful tone, Tabris looking around as the darkness then swallowed him once more.

**"Your adventure has already begun, just stay on your guard you will make it through just fine…"**

The voice suddenly echoes as Tabris finds himself inside another pedestal, a new stained glass view on it below him.

This one featured a quartet of Awakened Beings as the most prominent feature.

In the center was a male being that resembled a huge, sleek, winged black centaur with glowing, pupil-less, ice-blue eyes.

To his left was a large female humanoid with feline hind legs, a cat-like head with two gaping jaws, one atop the other, gold cat-like eyes, jagged bony plates on her back, thighs and elbows and two long, muscular tails.

To his right was a female being with glowing, pupil-less red eyes and retained a humanoid form, composed of maroon ribbon-like strips. Her lower body was an immense mass of such strips that vaguely resembled a ball gown.

The last one was a female humanoid with a single horn on her forehead, rather like an oni. Her hair was pale and very tousled. Her skin was a light shade of purple. Her body was humanoid, but very thin, elongated, and muscular, with four wings.

There were small circles filled with the faces of people wearing the same outfit Riful wore as a senshi.

Looking at the rather intricate scene with a raised brow, he had to wonder about all of these stained glass views that were somehow popping up below him when they shouldn't even be able to support his weight.

**"Now a new test is in order…"**

The voice suddenly came, and an odd door forms in the center of the room, Tabris frowned as he walked over to it.

"**Every door has a key, but can you find the right one?"**

The voice then asks and Tabris looks around, two keys appeared, one over Riful, and the other over Isley.

Tabris walked over to the first key, being a black bladed key with a red heart, fixed within black filigree, and a vine shaped filigree guard. The keychain had square shaped links, leafing to a wing shaped emblem.

**"The Key of Darkness, undeniable ambition, none shall be allowed to halt its path forward…"**

The voice called out and Tabris hung onto the key while walking over to the second one, which was purple with filigree for teeth. The guard was wing shaped, and the keychain had circle shaped links, leading to a heart shaped emblem.

**"The Key of Light, absolute courage, he who would walks this path, takes the path of the hero."**

The voice echoed and for some reason, Tabris frowned while looking at either key, then walked over to the door and looked at it. He inspected the keyhole, and saw that both were to small.

'_Neither…' _Making his decision, he the tips of both into the floor before then reached to his waist, taking his khomesh shaped Keyblade.

**"Pride of Osiris…"**

The voice suddenly echoed and Tabris looked at his Keyblade.

**"A key of great strength. He who walks its path, walks eternally betwixt the eaves of salvation and damnation."**

The voice echoed ominously, but Tabris merely frowned as he noticed that it was too big.

So, he looked back to the Light and Dark keys, _'together, huh?'_ He sheathed Pride of Osiris and took them both up, and slammed them together.

What appeared when the glow died down was what appeared to be an amalgamation of both.

The Keyblade was 39" overall. The blade was 30" long and 1" thick. looked to be a cross between a double-edged katana, and a Kris, the blade was two toned, one edge being black, and the other was purple. The blade was interlaced with vine shaped filigree, which extended into one side of the guard. The other side of the guard was a wing. The teeth was intricate filigree, with a heart at the center. The handle was a 9" pink bar. The keychain was 7", with rounded-square shaped links, and at the end was a winged heart emblem. The entire weapon was surrounded by a pink glow, and it occasionally sparked with pink electricity. (Twilight Keyblade: End of a Heart)

He inspected the Keyblade.

"**End of a Heart: He who walks it's path, walks the path of the ronin. Fated to wander forever, never to belong."**

He considered the words, but seeing as that was just his life in a nutshell, he shrugged and then stabbed it into the Keyhole and twisted it.

Instantly the tumblers within the keyhole snapped open and Tabris quickly pulled his Keyblade from it and sheathed it into a alchemically created scabbard on his right hip, only to be pulled beyond the door.

Landing in a crouch, Tabris reached up with a groan and rubbed his head. Looking downwards, Tabris saw that End of a Heart was gone and mentally twitched.

This one had a girl with hip length platinum hair, and green, narrow eyes. She wore a black leather version of Xero's jacket, but the string-and-frog broach was replaced with two silver buttons. Across her medium sized chest was a simple white band. She wore knee length leather trousers that only covered her crotch and the back of her legs. Attached to those were dark blue denim chaps that covered from above the knees down, they had was a light blue flame pattern. Her feet were covered by black shoes with a metal instep guard. She was holding a futuristic looking katana with a guard that extended to protect her hand. Behind her the scene depicted an old library.

**"Every warrior has strength… But now you must give it form."**

The voice then echoes and Tabris blinked, three pedestals rose up around the area. In order from first to last, they had a sword, a shield, and a staff.

Frowning, Tabris walked over to the shield first and picked it off of the pedestal, looking at it with a frown.

It was a targe shield, only big enough that when mounted on his forearm, it would cover the area from his wrist to his elbow (i.e. 10 square inches). The shield was black, with a silver mirror taking up the majority of the face, with 9 concentric circles adorning it. (Yata no Kagami)

**"The power of the Guardian, kindness to aid friends, a shield to repel all…"**

The voice called out and Tabris frowned, his eyes tearing up slightly. This one seemed like a younger version of him, back when he still had people to protect. He then lowered his head while placing the shield back down, he had already failed at being a guardian… many times over…

Turning he then made his way over to the staff and picked it up with a frown. It was remarkably smooth 61.5' black wooden staff, with a 3.5' silver bladed ring with a thin cylindrical cross inside, and six 1' cylindrical rings hanging from it. Strangely enough there was a black beaded necklace, with six red magatama beads laced through the cross. (?) (Yasakani no Magatama)

**"The power of the Mystic, inner strength, a staff of wonder and ruin…"**

The voice called out and Tabris frowned in thought while holding the staff. He did have inner strength, but was he really a mystic at heart? No. He liked magic… but he was a swordsman at heart. So Mystic was out as well…

The next one made him smile, it was a tachi, or Japanese double edges sword, the sword was 43" overall. The blade was 36" long, 1" wide, 1.5" thick, and was scarletite, and silver in color. The guard was a hunter green gemstone, with a red gemstone at the center. The hilt was 7", it was a wooden bar wrapped in white cloth, and was capped with a green gemstone. (Kusanagi no tsurugi)

**"The power of the Warrior, invincible courage, a sword of terrible destruction…"**

The voice echoed as Tabris looked at the weapon, and then slowly sighed while looking upwards into the endlessly black sky. He had already seen enough to know what he was and was not, and while the other weapons had a sort of good feeling to them, the sword appealed most to him for obvious reasons.

The power of the sword would help him to protect anyone he still could, even if he could never again be the Guardian, he would defend those that fought at his side. However, he knew he could not chose any one path over the other, so he held out his hand and telekinetically summoned all three.

He caught the sword first in his right hand, and the targe attached itself to his left forearm while his left hand caught the staff. The three then began to glow, he was blinded for an instant.

When the Light receded, he looked down, and smiled as he saw the End of a Heart.

**"Your path is set…"**

The ground beneath him began to rumble as he fell once again.

He landed, sure enough, on his feet. He looked down again, and his eye twitched madly at the cosmos' sense of humor. The person depicted this time was his own mother. In circles around her were himself, Xero, Hamal, and Morenn.

Looking around Tabris felt something, seeing a light in the center of the room he walked over to it and stands still, crossing his arms as he does.

**"Now, it's time you learned of the true power of Twilight…"**

The voice calls out ominously and Tabris frowned while looking at the Spellbinder as it started to glow.

**"The Spellbinders mainly work by converting your need into form. I do not think this warrants an explanation, you are a smart lad. Try to make a Doorway…"**

The voice called out and Tabris frowned but then closed his eyes, imagining a doorway, taking a step back in surprise when a massive gate appeared before him.

**"A 'Dark Corridor' the Heartless way of traveling between worlds…"**

The voice offers while Tabris approached at the door with a slight twitch. **"Do not be afraid. Walk through to reach your next test."**

The voice offers to him kindly and Tabris steeled his gaze and walked forward. Making his way to the door, he walked calmly through the Dark Corridor and into the shadows beyond…

Soon feeling his feet make contact with a solid floor, the man slowly opens his red eyes, finding himself on another pillar.

Looking down, the redhead is shocked to see himself on this one, his arms crossed into an X with his two Keyblades present, while his body is knelt down and garbed in his Armor, eyes closed with several silhouetted figures sanding behind and around him. In the nine circles around him he sees people he has never met, some having been on the numerous pedestals before this one, as well as the draenei girl from before.

**"And so at last, we come to our final test…"**

The familiar voice suddenly echoed and Tabris twitched, wondering why that sounded so awfully familiar.

As soon as he did, a man appeared before him, dressed in a black full length velvet cassock with a waist high slit up the back, and a black velvet turban on his head, leaving his face shadowed, onlu his mouth and chin visable. From the collarbone to the waist were silver clasps, leaving it to flow freely from the waist down. Black velvet gloves covered his hands, and under the coat were black velvet formfitting trousers, and black velvet hardened velvet boots.

He caused Tabris to pause, as the figure was equipped with the four objects from before. Kusanagi no Tsurugi in his right hand, ? In his left, Yata no Kagami on his left forearm, and Yasakani no Magatama around his neck.

The hooded man looked at Tabris and crouched down into a stance. Seeing this, Tabris took a stance as well, with End of a Heart behind him in his right hand, and Pride of Osiris in front of him in a reverse grip in his left, his eyes narrowed onto the strange man dangerously.

"Show me…" The man whispered while crouching lower for a brief moment, then launched forward. "Show me your power…" He stated while swinging his sword, Tabris blocking at the last second, his eyes wide as he was pushed back by the force of the man's swing. Cursing, Tabris then rolled out of the way as the man vanished and reappeared in a flash, swinging his blade and nearly taking his head off.

"Show me… your strength." The man uttered sinisterly while Tabris came out of his roll and narrowed his eyes. Quickly putting away End of a Heart and taking out Yami no Ryu. Seeing this, the hooded man merely chuckled before taking a lazy stance while Tabris growled low in his throat then lunged forward, the man vanishing in a burst of violet energy as Tabris tried to swipe into him…

Cursing under his breath, Tabris ducked under a swing from the hooded man as he came at him, then jumped into a spinning swing. However, the man quickly dispersed himself and then appeared across from him, an infuriating little smirk across his lips. Gritting his teeth, Tabris wished he knew whom the man was…

The redhead thought while ducking turning and dodging as the hooded man came at him with an omnislash, Tabris eyes widened as he blocked it with his own omnislash, seeing the attack he used on Riful, 'that move.. but I am the only living person who knows it!'.

Seeing an opening in the Figure's attacks, Tabris then swung his swords forward in a crossslash, only to grunt as the hooded man dispersed and reappeared behind him. Narrowing his eyes, Tabris swung one of his blades backwards towards the hooded man, only for him to dodge to the side. Turning into a swing with Pride of Osiris, Tabris then slid to a halt while throwing Yami no Ryu at the hooded man.

However, just like before, the man vanished in a burst of energy before reappearing in the center of the arena. "Feel the Stigma…" the hooded man uttered as he threw his arms, and his sword, into the air while summoning numerous pillars of hellfire around his body, the shadows around the arena pulling Tabris towards him. Growling, Tabris quickly sheathed his weapons and started to back flip, keeping away from the attack before coming out in a low crouch as the fire finally stopped and the hooded man caught his sword in hand.

Smirking, the hooded man then crouched low and shot forward, Tabris cursed as he brought up his two swords to guard.

The fight thus far, was clearly more a one sided slaughter that anything else, every time he attacked the figure; the hooded man seemed to disperse, block, or dodge his attack effortlessly. His speed was unreal; Tabris couldn't even attack because the hooded man always had something to counter.

The man was a monster in battle, and Tabris was finding that anything that should have weakened him didn't. Instead, the hooded man was somehow able to turn his weaknesses into strengths, and despite the situation, Tabris truly admired that about the man.

Tabris grit his teeth as he was sent flying back by the hooded man for what felt like the hundredth time already. The man's strength was unreal; he was faster, stronger, more agile, and in general far superior to him in every way conceivable!

'Shit… the voice really did its homework when it picked someone to test me.' Tabris thought to himself as the hooded man casually circled him for a moment, a strange smirk tilting across his lips. Growling, Tabris flipped back to his feet and prepared to release his inner gates, but found that he couldn't.

'_Why… can't I release?' _**"Because this place is inside your heart. Your power was never sealed in the first place." **That simple answer cause a chill up the back of Tabris' spine he had not felt since he was human

Tabris roared out while lunging forward, twisting into a spinning slash. The hooded man merely jumped up and over the attack while Tabris twisted around to face him, sliding into a crouch while the hooded man closed his eyes once more.

The hooded man crouched down and then lunged at Tabris once more and the redhead just barely managed to raise his Keyblade to block his attack. Narrowing his eyes onto the hooded man, Tabris growled and then dug his heels into the dirt before shoved the hooded man back. The man fell back only to disperse and Tabris quickly fell back into a Dark-Corridor. Once the hooded man reappeared Tabris fell out of the corridor above him and brought his Key down on top of him. Moving his blade up, the hooded man blocked the slash before throwing Tabris to the side with his staff, the redhead rolled into a crouch and Twilight flashed over his form.

Smirking, The Figure's stance suddenly changed. Raising a brow at this for only a moment, Tabris then lunged at the hooded man, swinging his swords at the man only for him to practically dance around the swings. Still smirking, the hooded man then moved like lightning, swinging with his staff hand while Tabris cursed and bent backwards to evade the blade. Twisting into a flip, Tabris caught The Figure's sword with of his key and kicked the man in the face.

Landing in a low crouch, Tabris smirked while the hooded man reached up to rub his chin before smirking as well. Tabris tapped his heels on the ground, and a pair of curved blades alchemically formed from the front of his sole, and curved over his instep, and tapered to a point at the front of his ankle as he took a stance with both swords in a reverse grip.

Raising a brow, the hooded man ran forward with surprising speed, preparing to strike only for Tabris to move to the side and twist into a kick with his bladed boots. Seeing the attack coming, the hooded man dispersed out of the way while Tabris landed in a sliding crouch while keeping his senses open.

Widening his eyes, Tabris then ducked as the hooded man came at him from behind. Placing his hands on the ground, Tabris then twisted his legs into a spinning kick at the hooded man, finally hitting him in the side. Grinning, Tabris pushed off the ground and kicked the hooded man in the face before twisting his blades out of the man. Falling back, Tabris flipped onto his feet while the hooded man took a few steps back. Chuckling, the man's wounds healed almost instantly while Tabris' eyes widened.

"Oh shit…" Tabris mumbled while the hooded man then threw his sword into the air.

"Perish now!" He cried as several pillars of hellfire formed around him, pulling an unprepared Tabris into their depths before throwing him out as they exploded. Flying out of the attack and landing in a roll, Tabris grunted while moving into a crouch and reformed his Keyblades. Catching his sword and staff the hooded man smirked towards Tabris while holding a hand towards the redhead haired youth.

"Descend Heartless Angel!" He stated as a strange halo of light started to form around Tabris. However the redhead wasn't about to take any chances, as he knew exactly what this attack was, and quickly threw one of his Keyblades at the man, nailing him in the face and stopping the attack before it could be completed. Stumbling back from the attack, the hooded man shook his head, but the momentary disorientation was all Tabris needed to enter a Dark-Corridor. Coming out behind the hooded man, Tabris slashed into him, knocking him to the side. Frowning, the silver haired man rolled to the side before righting himself and coming out in a crouch.

"Now the game gets interesting." the hooded man mused mostly to himself as he stood up and then threw his blade into the air.

He cried out as a wave of Twilight energy flowed from his body and caused shivers to run down Tabris' spine. Looking to the man, Tabris noticed that now his body was coated with purple energy, his eyes nearly glowing as he caught his blade once more.

The cloaked figure merely flipped backwards to evade then lunged forward once more. Tabris twisted on his heel, swinging either of his blades at the other warrior, only for him to kick out and knock him to the ground. Grunting and slamming a fist onto the floor, Tabris then jumped out of the way as the warrior came at him swinging his blades once more. Flipping into a roll, the redhead got to his feet and blocked the oncoming blades with both of his own. Soon moving back as the warrior did, the two circled one another, each looking for a way to attack.

Tabris frowned towards the warrior, then stopped, the other warrior coming at him, only for him to look at his Spellbinder and frown. Snapping his fingers he created a Dark Corridor behind himself and jumped into it. The Darkness closed soon after, the person sliding to a halt before he could fall and looked around for the redhead. Tabris soon appeared out of the corridor above him, swinging End of a Heart at the other warrior. The warrior quickly rolled out of the way of this and then twisted on his heel, sending a stream of luminescent dark-blue lightening from Kusanagi flying towards Tabris.

Frowning, Tabris blocked with Pride of Osiris then he grinned darkly, as he quickly slammed his fist into the ground, causing a purple wave rush toward the other warrior.

Smirking as the wave crashed into the unknown warrior and caused him to kneel. Remembering what he learned in his first trip to this place, Tabris leapt into the air and used his wings. Tabris flew forward, swinging his swords at the man. The warrior quickly rolled under Tabris and then twisted, landed in a crouch, a spiral of white energy coming out of the tip of ?, reaching out to slice through the him.

Regaining his balance, Tabris then twisted his body and flew towards the figure, swinging his swords at him he connects the blade with his opponents mirror shield, causing him to hold them both in an X as Tabris pushed him towards the edge of the massive pillar.

The warrior halted his attempt to block, and using the momentum from Tabris' attack, flipped over him. The redhead frowned as he then twisted End of a Heart around, floating over the edge of the pillar as the warrior then ran towards him with a roar. Grinning slightly, Tabris snapped his fingers once more, another Dark Corridor appearing behind him which he quickly stepped through, the corridor closed behind him as the warrior slid to a halt and fought to regain his balance before he fell from the pillar.

Behind him, Tabris appeared out of his Dark Corridor, then lunged at the warrior. Quickly turning the warrior ducked beneath a swing from Pride of Osiris, then rolled to the side to avoid a stab from End of a Heart.

Slowly returning to his feet, the warrior and Tabris squared off once more, the redhead frowning towards the other warrior. Suddenly smirking, Tabris then threw End of a Heart at his opponent, and so great was his surprise, that it penetrated his guard and entered to his stomach, exiting out his back, and stuck midway through.

Surprised, the warrior did not wait to see what would happen next as he lunged forward, while quickly swinging his blades at the ronin.

Tabris grinned at this, and then lunged forward below the other warrior's Keyblades before slamming the tip of Pride of Osiris into End of a Heart. Upon impact, the other Keyblade became detached, whereupon Tabris twisted and grabbed it. The warrior was sent flying back from force of said impact.

Tabris smirked as he then leveled End of a Heart along his shoulders with a smirk. The warrior was sent flying back, soon landing at the very edge of the platform and hanging off of it by a single hand, his weapons falling from his hands as Tabris walked over to him. Kneeling down, he offered him a helping hand.

However he swung Kusanagi and Tabris leapt back away from the other and into a crouch. The warrior then slowly rose up, his turban falling off and causing Tabris' eyes to widen. The warrior's expression is set in an intense gaze and a faint smile. The warrior had blood red eyes with obsidian black sclera, ringed with Egyptian paint. He had mid-back length blood red hair. The face was also identical to Tabris', but his skin was mocha colored.

"Your me…" Tabris whispers in shock and the look-alike narrowed his eyes.

"No. You are not me yet…" He says, confusing Tabris as he then roars and lunges forward, swinging both of his Keyblades at the startled dhampir. Quickly shaking his surprise and confusion off, Tabris bats the other man away with Pride of Osiris while he quickly pulled Yami no Ryu from his back and crouched down into a stance.

"Yet?" He then asks while staring at the other redhead with a raised brow, the other redhead quickly flipping up to his feet as well.

"I am not you. You are merely a less evolved me." He says and Tabris raises a brow, wondering what that was supposed to mean. Tabris thought about that and hummed slightly, wondering how exactly that worked.

"Well… that may be so…" Tabris mused as he slams a fist into the ground, the other man gritting his teeth as three orbs of Twilight suddenly formed around him. "After all, you have been beating me quite easily thus far." Tabris notes then points to the other redhead, the orbs quickly rushing towards him.

Gritting his teeth the other warrior quickly dispenses them, then curses and rolls out of the way as Tabris nearly comes down on top of him, swinging his two Keyblades wildly.

The other redhead easily evaded the swings, obviously the superior fighter, as he easily knocked Tabris down.

Cursing, the other warrior lunged out of the way as Tabris came at him, swinging his End of a Heart Keyblade down on him.

Twisting on his heel, Tabris swung his End of a Heart Key at the other warrior, and then flipped upwards before bringing both weapons down on him. The man quickly blocked with his own sword, gritting his teeth while falling to one knee. Roaring out, he then pushed Tabris back, the young Warrior merely flipping and landing in a stance, weapons held at the ready. The other man rose up as well and spun his sword and pulled out his staff before lunging forward, slamming into Tabris and sending both warriors into the air.

Grunting as the redhead connected with him, Tabris flipped over his opponent and then spun into a slash, the man blocked and then pushed him back. Growling, Tabris then threw his Keyblade into a spin, nailing the other man in the leg and causing him to hit the ground face first while Tabris landed in a crouch. Tabris cursed as his opponent came at him once more, swinging his blades at him in beautiful arcs.

Flipping back Tabris ducked a swing from the other before then slamming his head into the other man's face. The other groaned, disorientated. Tabris lunged forward and jumped and kicked him in the chest with both legs, cutting him and sending the other warrior flying off of the side of the pillar, and into the gap between it and the wall.

Tabris quickly ran over to the side of the pillar, he sees the man fall farther down before vanishing in a flash of Twilight. "He… wasn't real?" Tabris wonders while slowly standing up.

**"Actually he was."**

The voice offered and Tabris frowned before sheathing his weapons.

"So what now?" Tabris asks while looking into the endless abyss.

**"There is no more I can teach you for now…"**

The voice suddenly echoed, the stained glass he was standing on darkening one section at a time.

**"Now go forth, and protect the balance…"**

* * *

(1) Drizzt (pronounced Drits) Do'Urden from Forgotten Realms.

(2) Riful's human form from Claymore.

(3) Monara, a draenei created by DrGraevling. In World of Warcraft, she is a level 85 draenei shaman.


	9. Five Years

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 9**

**Five Years**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**

'_**Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

The next five years revolved almost entirely around Lilith. Tabris had found his female form to be somewhat impractical, at first he had theorized that being the stronger gender would give him a power boost, but seeing as Amaranth was not a true female, he stopped using her form after Lilith's weaning.

True to his word, he had practiced shape shifting until he could take on the form of anyone at will. But, lacking a reason to take on any other form, did not take any other shapes.

He could even create clothing from his own flesh. He would usually make his clothes the old fashion way, but this was even more useful, seeing as there was no limit to the different clothing styles he could make, as well as repair them. In fact, there was very little need to repair them, as clothing made in this fashion adopted the properties of his own flesh, making them extremely resistant to wear.

His favorite wardrobe was actually his old outfit from Atra Terris; it had a lot of sentimental value, even if Lilith had destroyed his original coat.

Lilith had grown slightly faster than average, she looked to be five instead of three. Tabris had grown to love the girl more than anything else, but she was sad that she did not have a mother, which caused him no small amount of grief.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Tabris was currently leaning back against a tree, reading a poetry book with Lilith in his lap. The girl was two years old, but looked to be almost four._

_The tiefling child looked up and asked in a pouting tone "daddy, why don' I have a mommy like the other kids?"_

_The demon prince closed his book and looked down at her, "well, uh… that is… I mean-" he said, fidgeting, and Lilith giggled and said "Daddy, you're being silly!"_

_Tabris blinked and raised a hand to the back of his head and sighed, confounded by how fast she went from sulking to cheerfully happy, it was as if Xero had raised her. "I suppose I am. But anyway, you do not have a mommy because… well…" He could not find an answer, so he said "I promise you will have one soon."_

_She gasped clasped her hands in front of her, and said "Really?!" He smiled fondly and said "Yes precious. I promise." He hugged her to him, "Yay!" she exclaimed ecstatically._

_He dropped his head back with a stressed expression _'what am I going to do?'

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

After that, he was very worried about what to do. He did not want to disappoint his girl, but it was not as if he could randomly find a woman who met his standards and who could tolerate him, and his 'aura of earnestness', as Xero called it.

But then, one day, one year ago, he had thought up a solution.

Malana!

He could only pray Alahad was away from the village.

The dhampir ronin had left Lilith in the care of a family of draenei whom he had befriended. Then he went to Toril via Corridor of Darkness.

Then, he had gone back to the forest village to meet with Malana.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Tabris was walking through the same forest, this time with determination in his eyes._

_At this point, Lilith had already destroyed his coat. He thought back on that time with no amount of anger, only amusement; she had cried a literal river of tears, thinking he was mad at her._

_On his back in one of the two scabbards was his beloved Dark forged katana, Yami no Ryu. A sword forged in the very depths of the Netherworld; the world which lies at the deepest part of the Realm of Darkness. In the other was his Light Keyblade Hikari no Ryu. Sheathed at his hips in alchemically created space distortion scabbards (meaning that although the blades themselves were roughly the same size as the swords on his back, when sheathed the blade was reduced to the length of a dagger) were Pride of Osiris on his left, and End of a Heart on his Right._

_Tabris arrived at the treelike arch, and as Gala and her male counterpart swung their swords at him, he unsheathed his sword and blocked in a single swift movement, where the same attack from them would have incapacitated him on his last visit._

_He swept back his hair and said. "I have come to see Malana."_

_Up in her tree, the very female that the intruder was looking for looked down on the transaction and smiled fondly._

_Their eyes narrowed to a glare, silently telling him to leave, warning him of the inevitable._

_But he did not budge, and forced his way past them, a simple wrist movement sending both of them back to a tree, which then shattered upon impact._

_But before he could get within five feet of Malana's abode, a golden weapon speared into the ground. A burst of Light energy exploded from the weapon, and he had to raise his right arm to shield his face, and move his legs into a crouch to avoid getting pushed back._

_Upon inspecting the weapon, it resembled a gladius of sorts. It was solid gold, and had a large orb at the cross guard. The handle was 12" long, and the blade was 32"._

_A male eladrin dove out of the canopy and grabbed the hilt. He had an athletic build, but was thicker and taller than the other eladrin. He wore gold armor, with a skirt-like fauld. His face was narrow, and his eyes were solid orbs of pale gold._

_It was Alahad, a ghaele (a noble eladrin who was the embodiment of winter)._

"_**What is thine business, vile fiend."**__ The gold eyesore said in a dual voice, but it was much harsher than the female noble eladrin's, causing Tabris to raise a brow, "Malana." The cambion said, short and to the point._

_Alahad's eyes narrowed as he rushed forward, and Tabris' eyes widened as he felt his stomach split, only being held up by his spine. The wound healed over and his clothing mended itself, but he knew that holding back now would mean certain death._

_The dhampir closed his eyes and concentrated, _'control art restriction, level one: **RELEASE!'** _Power exploded from his body, but his coffin did not appear._

_The energy, both Twilight and Demonic, exuding from the demon prince was enough for Alahad to have to brace himself. Yami no Ryu had also began to emanate an aura of Darkness._

_Alahad was emanating an aura of Light and Celestial energy, equally as powerful as his own aura. The being's long gladius began to radiate an aura of Light._

_One's aura was red and purple mixed with black electricity, his sword producing a black mist like aura. The other's aura was pure white and ice blue, and his sword's aura was white._

_Their auras were blazing at equal strength, but even so, Tabris could not help but to feel as if Alahad and his sword were holding back._

"_**The real fight begins now."**__ Tabris said ominously, as he rushed forward and clashed Yami no Ryu with the winter-being's weapon._

_Clash after clash, the exchange was to fast for even the eyes around them, save for Malana's, to see. For the first time in an age, the embodiment of winter was being given a fight worthy of legend._

"_**Ele xun dos lac ussta rothe"**__**(Why do you seek my slave)**_ _Alahad spoke in the drow language. Tabris eyes widened, _**'so, he has been corrupted by the drow.'**

"_**Vel'bol xun dos hass'l a 'rothe'**__." (What do you mean by 'slave') Tabris spoke angrily, and the other being widened his eyes, but smirked and uttered a single word that made the dhampir's blood boil._

"_**Vith."**_ (A/N: I'm not even going to say it. If you want to know, look it up.)

_Tabris' eyes burned with rage as he finally understood the meaning of the runes on Malana's robe; they were seals, meant to suppress her power and the wild nature he had sensed; thus making her subservient._

_Tabris roared and went at him with the fury of a thousand suns. The ghaele smirked, anger only served to make one's technique sloppy._

_But instead, Alahad was pushed onto the defensive, struggling to block the enraged dhampir's furious strikes._

_They leapt back, both landing some twenty feet from each other. They took new stances._

_Alahad: with his sword's guard in line with his right shoulder, parallel with the ground, and his left arm out, palm open, parallel with the sword's tip._

_Tabris: with his sword's Tsuba in line with his ear, the blade parallel to the ground, blade facing up. His left arm held forward, his ring and pinky fingers curled in, and his fore and middle fingers straight out, roughly an inch from the blade's tip._

_A ball of water and ice began forming in Alahad's open hand, and a sphere of crimson energy sparking with black electricity formed at the tip of Yami no Ryu. With a yell from them both; a wordless yell from Alahad, and a shout of __**"Dragon Fang!"**__ from Tabris, the elemental attack and energy beam flew foreword, and passed each other by a hair._

_The entire village was rocked by an intense explosion, as a scream of pain was heard from the two warriors._

_When the smoke cleared, their clothes and armor were in tatters, and their upper bodies were covered in blood. Their faces were marked with a scar._

_Alahad's scar was in the shape of an X, the upper branches of the x crossed both his eyes to end just above his ears, and the lower branches reached the sides of his chin, under his ears._

_Tabris' scar began on his hairline, crossed his right eye, and ended at his chin._

_It was only due to their regenerative abilities that their eyes were saved, but their scars would never heal._

_As Alahad's concentration was weakening, so too were the seals on Malana's robe. She looked to the fading green runes, and smirked._

_Back at the battle, Alahad's eyes widened as he saw Tabris' iris's expanding, encompassing his pupil and sclera. His upper back was bulging as his wings threatened to burst out._

_So distracted was he by Tabris' changing features, he had to jump back cursing as Yami no Ryu cut horizontally across the bridge of his nose; thus making another scar, the line crossed horizontally through the cross section of the X._

"'_**Udtila l' ssiggrin del Malana tluin ussta rothe kor dos nindol mzilt?" (Does the thought of Malana being my slave anger you this much?) **__He said coldly, taunting the changing half demon._

_Tabris roared, and his remaining clothing exploded from his person, revealing his true form, unlocked by his fury._

_His eyes were now blood red with a slit pupil and a black sclera. He now had enormous black leathery wings with a crimson membrane perched on his upper back, the span being 16'. His hair wilder and longer, now having the consistency of fur, and reaching lower-back length. His skin had turned a pale blue color. His body from the neck down was covered in something similar to skintight armor, made from bone. The armor was formfitting and black in color, but had silver shin guards that came to upward spikes at his knees, forearm guards that ended in upward spikes at his elbows, a breast guard on his upper torso, and claws on his hands and feet. The armor on his hands and feet become claws.(1)_

_His body was too heavy for flight, thus it was altered. His bones were hollowed out, and the fat that remained clinging to his body from the human phase of his life (2) was now completely gone._

_Along with his body's change, his aura had as well, it was now growing so dense the very air was almost unbreathable, and black electricity was now crackling all throughout it._

_The Dark aura expanded to encompass the entirety of the forest, the density of the energy crushing the trees, turning the place into a wasteland. Some of the weaker eladrin were crushed instantly, the stronger ones taking refuge outside of the forest limits. Or at least, that's what would have happened had Tabris not thought foreword and set up a barrier around their fight._

_Alahad's eyes widened, as he realized this putrid creature was now on even terms with him._

_The two clashed once more, Alahad determined to end this fight once and for all, was no longer holding back. Tabris' body fought on auto-pilot, as his mind needed to catch up to his new strength and speed._

_The godlike eladrin took advantage of the demon prince-turned demon lord's lapse in mental activity to outwit, and ultimately defeat him._

_**"Am I… being defeated?"**__ Tabris asked in disbelief, his voice was now mechanical sounding, his mind having just come back to him. Defeat hadn't even been a realistic concept to him until recently._

_However, that's what seemed to be happening to him._

_But why was he losing? In the first few minutes of their encounter Alahad had easily beaten Tabris, but in the next hour they were fighting on even terms._

_So why was it that now, after having unlocked his mightiest form that he still could not defeat Alahad?_

_**"What, is that all you got?"**__ Alahad spoke down to him haughtily. The corrupted celestial warrior was actually speaking down to him!_

_**"Come on. Get up. You can do better than that." **__Tabris' pain and ache was nothing compared to his determination now. He wasn't going to just fall down and die._

_He would get up and he would fight!_

_Tabris shakily pushed himself up from the ground and turned back towards Alahad._

_"__**Let's finish this vile demon."**__ Tabris' eyes narrowed just a bit. It was virtually impossible to kill him. Even if his body was destroyed, his spirit would gather enough strength to create a new one in a mere century._

_This was due to his possession of the Ebony Stone, the Crimson Stone, and (unknowingly) the Philosopher's stone._

_Both of them were tired now. Though Tabris had clearly been exhausted more, Alahad was not going to be running any marathons either. The next one to strike a blow would be the victor._

_There was a connection that most people could not make with fighting; it was not just some brainless activity, unlike what most people thought._

_Well, that's not what it was supposed to be. If you could find the true meaning of fighting a whole new realm opened up._

_Fighting was a way of showing your beliefs. It takes a lot more resolve to take a punch to the face then an insult across the table. If you fought it showed that you were willing to risk your life for your beliefs._

_Fighting is the most honest form of self-expression; you're body cannot lie._

_For the two of them, who had been around fighting and death their whole lives, this was more apparent than to the most seasoned war-veteran._

_Alahad barely moved, not preparing a stance. Whether it was because he could not or if he simply did not want to was something Tabris couldn't tell, but it didn't matter. They ran towards each other, each holding their swords behind them as they did so. Time seemed to slow in order to allow them to enjoy these last few moments for all that they were. Then Tabris' foot fell in a shallow hole, and time came back to normal._

_They attacked; the exchange too fast for the eyes around them to see, as they came to a stop on opposite sides from where they had been, still holding their swords up._

_Tabris waited a few seconds for the results and then knew them as he felt his stomach separate once again, being held up only by his backbone. The wound healed itself, but expended the last of Tabris' energy as it did so._

_The final blow to his stamina made him start to fall forward. He stuck a foot out in front of him to keep him from falling down, but his amulet fell from his neck as he did so; as if abandoning him for his unwillingness to accept his defeat._

_Tabris stooped to pick it up and then somehow forced himself to straighten up again. He turned towards Alahad while taking a step back._

_With his strength wavering, the barrier fell, as Tabris had to make a conscious effort to keep it up._

_His enemy, who had already sheathed his weapon and turned towards him, now looking at him with hatred, arrogance, and just the slightest hint of pity in his eyes._

_The fight had pushed Tabris' power level up from a lower alpha, to that of a mid-alpha class demon, and had awakened his true form, but in the end he was still defeated!_

_But it seemed that fate was on his side, as at that moment Malana (who he would later learn was a bralani, a noble eladrin who was the embodiment of autumn) had escaped from her bindings._

_Both their eyes widened, as Malana grabbed Tabris' sword, and impaled it into Alahad, as well as her own hand just as he was about to deliver the finishing blow._

_Tabris had lost consciousness after that._

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

This had happened three months ago. Afterward, he had awoken in a hut where she then explained that neither of them were welcome anywhere near the eladrin any longer, and that she wanted to go with him.

So, filling her in on the situation, he opened up a Dark Corridor and returned to Azeroth.

* * *

(1) The inspiration for Tabris' true form comes from Final Fantasy VII, Vincent Valentine's Chaos form, and his voice's mechanical sound also comes from Vincent's Chaos form.

(2) At some point in the future, I plan on writing a prequel about Tabris' human years.


	10. Memories

**Twilight Warrior**

**Chapter 10**

**Memories**

"Normal Speech"

'_Normal Thought'_

"**Demonic Speech"**

'_**Demonic Thought'**_

"**Angelic Speech"**_**'Angelic Thought'**_

* * *

Currently, Tabris and Lilith were walking to a large stone castle, having just finished training in swordplay.

The draenei banner emblem (1) was emblazoned over his heart, to show his current allegiance.

Lilith wearing the same outfit as her father, but without the coat. Over her shirt was a leather Y-shaped bandoleer, that secured her sword onto her back.

The sword was 30" inches long from tip to pommel. The blade was ½" at the base, and the first 4" of the blade was inscribed with kanji-like runes. 4", starting where the kanji ended, the blade was serrated. Lastly, the tsuka was 6", and was wrapped in black scale-like leather with strips of silver wrapped around it, tied to the pommel was a black cord tassel, and at the end was a purple tomoe. The silver tsuba resembled a European cross guard, and was shaped like a succubae, with the wings being one end of the cross guard, and the legs and tail being the other. The saya was black, and had the same design as the tsuka. (Youtou: Angoku Dama) (2)

They walked in the door, and found Malana sleeping… on the ceiling.

It was something she had taken to doing lately. She got the idea from him actually; he mentioned once that his species had an innate ability to ignore the laws of gravity.

He shook his head amusedly, and Lilith giggled. He walked under her and grabbed her arm, and pulled her down. The telekinetic bonds holding her to the roof vanished, and she fell into Tabris' arms with a girly sheik, making Lilith laugh even harder.

She glared at him, at which he simply smirked amusedly. She let up and smiled, kissed him on the lips and jumped down.

What Tabris had first sensed about the Malana was very accurate. The bralani was exceedingly wild and competitive, often challenging him to various contests of speed, strength, skill, stamina, and any other tests of physical ability one could imagine. He did not mind however, it somewhat mellowed him out; he did not feel the need to recklessly act upon his seemingly endless thirst for battle anymore.

They went from their designated rooms, to the main living area. This place was shared with several other close-knit families, all of the draenei race. The draenei were a Light aligned sub-race of eredar, a lesser species of demon.

This castle, serving as a meeting place for the heads of the alliance, and located in the draenei capital city of Exodar, was normally empty, save for the unorthodox family of dhampir/father, bralani/mother, and tiefling/daughter, as well as a six other draenei families not any bigger than his own family.

As they walked into the living area, they saw that the only ones there at the moment were Velen(3) and his daughter Monara.

Draenei males have tendrils coming out of their chin and scale-like forehead plates which rose from their forehead to their crown. Male draenei have large tails which were held erect by developed muscle structure. The female of the species exhibits marked differences: rather than the forehead plates featured on the male, they have vaguely horn-shaped cranial extensions that extend over the upper cranium and end on either side of the crown. Female cranial tendrils sprout behind the ear and are typically long enough to reach the shoulders. Female draenei tails are shorter and have a lower muscle density. In both genders, they have trichotomic legs that ended in relatively large cloven hooves.

They were who he had left Lilith with upon his return to Faerun. Their daughter Monara was Lilith's best friend, both being the same age.

Velen dark blue skin, and sky-blue eyes. He had four tendrils coming out of his chin. He had a thick muscular 4' tail. Velen wore a green robe with leather body armor.

He was a mage, and as such he carried around a wooden staff, topped by a purple rune.

Monara had a cute heart-shaped face, white-blue, almost grey skin and sky blue eyes. Her horns swept back behind her head, but she was young still, and so they were short. She had four facial tendrils, two behind each ear, and were very short. Her tail was roughly five inches long. She wore a simple one piece dress.

When Velen looked up, he smiled and greeted the trio politely, and Monara looked up with a grin and ran up to Lilith. The adults watched happily as the girls embraced lovingly and ran off to play.

Tabris and Velen shared an amused look, and they went to sit together. Malana went to prepare some herbal tea for her and Velen, and some of her blood for Tabris. Normally vampires would not be satisfied with anything less than a couple of quarts (4), but her blood was so potent, a mere ½ cup was enough to keep him good and strong for weeks.

The topic of discussion varied in the talks. Philosophy, science, combat tactics, or more recently it was the children. Talks were normally quiet and subdued, but could get quite heated when all seven families were in the sitting room.

Soon Malana came back in, a tray with three goblets of tea, and one wine glass of blood floating beside her; she always made one extra. She sat down with them and joined in the talks.

Luei, Velen's mate, came in soon after.

She was a draenei of middle height, with pure white hair that curled into locks that reached the middle of her back, and white cat-like eyes. Her skin was white and silky, her face was oval shaped, she had two white tendrils behind each pointed ear, long enough to brush the top of her breasts, and she had dull short horns that pointed upwards. Her build was deceptively frail looking, and she had a stab scar above her left elbow. She wore a black top, that was crimson from mid-torso up, and had intricate gold designs that ran up the front and back. She wore black leggings, and crimson boots (that did not cover her hooves), and black and crimson shin guards. She wore a sapphire wedding band, a violet orb necklace, and had gold rings on her tendrils and tail. She was followed by a faint scent of flowers and herbs. Lastly, she had a scimitar hanging from her hip, and a small shield on her left forearm. (5)

Her frail appearance and flowery scent belied her nature as a warrior, and a strong one at that. Her docile appearance had led many to flirt with her, however they didn't keep at it after she kicked their asses.

At one point, Lilith ran through, from one end of the room to the other, and entering and exiting through corridors. Only, it was not just her and Monara, but all of the children that lived there. Hotshiver and her sister Scrizzatch, Repakuku and her sister Lisella, Tesslora and her sister Anajlis, Jahlee, and Nanako. He had to wonder about some of those names, he did not know if they were nicknames or not.

Despite how laid-back they all were, Tabris secretly worried. The draenei were Light aligned, almost fanatically so. When the Light disagreed with anything related to Darkness, even slightly, the situation hag a tendency to escalate to the point where Darkness was cast out, sort of like the Salem witch trials of the sixteen-hundreds.

She looked at the area around her and sighed.

It had been two years since Xero, Sparda, Enzeru, and Lucina had defeated Mundus.

Well, to be more accurate on what happened, Sparda alone defeated Mundus. He kept the others back, knowing that this was his task alone.

With Mundus defeated, they sealed off the entrance to the demon world on Malet Island. After that, the crew went to the west, and sealed the entrance there, a tower called Temmen Ni Gru. But in order to seal the second and final gate, Lucina was sacrificed, and Enzeru stayed in the demon world in order to guard Sparda's sword, the container of his power. Before Enzeru was locked away, he bade Sparda to protect his and Lucina's daughter, an infant girl with black hair and one blue eye, and one brown eye.

After that, she had left the Land of Crossroads, as that world was called. She had visited several others. Her adventures in those worlds, while eventful, were nothing worth mentioning; slaughter hoards of soulless, become stronger and more powerful, practice her magic, swordplay, combat with the Keyblade, and combat skills in general.

So, with nothing better to do, she summoned a few Shadow heartless. If you were not Light aligned, you'd find that they were actually quite cute and playful.

That night, Tabris relaxed into his shared mattress after a 'marathon' with Malana. The blue skinned elf had already fallen into a meditative trance; elves of Toril did not sleep.

He entered into a meditative trance as well; such circumstances as eliminating the need for his coffin had eventually rid him of his need altogether for sleep.

Rather than dream he had visions, which was quite redundant since there was little difference between the two.

His vision was of a time when he was still human. All vampires were born human, turned or no. Born vampires only truly became their powerful nosferatu selves either at birth, or after death. The transition for all vampires was slow, happening over the course of several decades, and only coming into completion after a century has passed.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_A boy of 17 approached a long set of stone stairs. He was fatigued from his journey, but he simply re-centered himself and started up the steps leading to the long abandoned White Lotus temple._

_That is of course, all but abandoned accept for the nearly millennia in age head priest, Pai Mei (6). For over a century, his home was the temple of the White Lotus Clan, and he was the temple's head priest. The temple served as a home to over 60 other priests and disciple as well._

_The White Lotus temple was made up of many different temples and dojos. Where he was headed to was the biggest structure, the one that housed the head priest. The man some worshipped as a god and some feared as a devil... neither were necessarily wrong. _

_The boy was a Rom (7), with mocha skin and long auburn hair. His canted reddish-brown eyes were Almond shaped, accompanied by traditional black Egyptian paint, and elongated eyebrows. His father, Hamal, was a Rom as well. He was born in Egypt, thus he was accustomed to Egyptian culture._

_He was wearing cream colored trousers that ended just above his ankles, and a similarly colored long sleeved shirt. Last were a pair of leather thongs. A strap was looped over his left shoulder, and ended with a leather bag hanging at his right hip carrying a fresh change of clothes. Finally, Kurokawa was strapped to his back with a scarlet sash._

_Tabris was already master of several martial art styles, both armed and unarmed. But he knew, even so, that he was no match for the illustrious Pai Mei._

_By the time he was done contemplating, he had reached the top of the stair, and was across the courtyard. The temple was huge and beautiful. Everything expertly carved, and cared for with a great deal of finesse._

_Tabris entered through the large intricately carved double doors, winded from his cross-country journey and the 100 steps up the mountain. He had an inclination to announce his arrival, but was weighed down upon by the fact that as soon as he entered, he was living on borrowed time._

_He saw a beautiful mahogany staircase that quite obviously lead to Pai Mei's private chamber._

_Pai Mei's chamber was a room just like the rest of this temple. There was a sitting area in the back, separating them with a scarlet scrim._

_Pai Mei was honestly… not what he had expected. He wore a loose white flowing robe, and a white gi underneath. The man's hair was long and snow white, as was his beard. His Eyebrows were bushy, and slightly overgrown. But other than that, he did not look like an old man at all! If anything, he looked like he was in his late thirties._

_Pai Mei himself was meditating, fully aware of Tabris' presence since long before he had reached the temple stairs. By reading his body language he knew everything there was to know about Tabris, every wound he had suffered, how he was brought up, even his mannerisms._

_Pai Mei knew all of this, yet he did not even bother to open his eyes._

_Tabris tried to hide his anger at not even being considered worthy of looking up at, but he was sure that the old master had felt it anyway._

_When Tabris stood just before the scrim, he kneeled and spoke "Master."_

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

He smiled whimsically. The training Pai Mei had put him through was harsh, and it did just as he hoped; pushed his resolve, as well as breached his physical and mental limits past the breaking point time and time again.

Tabris had thought that he knew what harsh training was, but being put through that style of training had shattered that belief.

Tabris had to admit that the training had changed him, and for the better. There were times when he cursed his Master's name, and there were times when he just wanted to give up. But he persevered and reaped the rewards of it.

With time, he began to enjoy the training; getting a high every time he succeeded and ate and drank at night, it seemed like an eternal party.

Party by night, train by day.

At the beginning, he thought it was one of the worst times of his life, but looking back at the end of the eight years under Pai Mei's eye, he realized it was the best time of his life. It was exactly what he needed, and then it come to an end.

(1) I don't know if that is the proper term…it's the gold circular emblem with what looks a hammer on it.

* * *

(2) Youtou: Angoku Dama - Cursed Blade: Jade of the Abyss by Wen-M. The back story is the same as the one Wen-M wrote in the authors note.

(3) I don't mean the prophet Velen… I am just not that familiar with WoW.

(4) A rough estimate of the amount in the average human body.

(5) Luei's character design was invented by angevere on DeviantArt. Her background however belongs to me.

(6) Pai Mei is from Kill Bill volume 2.

(7) A Rom is a man from the Roma tribe. The Roma, or human in their language called 'Romany', are more commonly known throughout the world as Gypsies (which by the way, is a racial slur).


End file.
